The recognition of the occupied regions of Ukraine is compared with Kosovo: are there really similarities?

On Facebook posted videowhich states that Kosovo is “not a country”:

“This state is not recognized by all the members of the European Union, it has not joined the United Nations, and if we recognize the independence of Kosovo, we must also recognize the independent Crimea, Kherson, Donbass and even Catalonia.”

It should be noted that this approach almost literally coincides with that of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov repeated position: “You recognized Kosovo without a referendum, but you didn’t recognize Crimea, even though there was a referendum.”

AFP/”Scanpix” photo/Russian armored vehicles with “green men” near the city of Kramtorsk

Similarities and differences

The circumstances of the declaration of independence of Kosovo and the so-called “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk, Crimea and the partially occupied regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia are similar in that in all three cases it was done in violation of the existing constitutions of the countries whose recognized territory these regions belonged to.

in 2006 in the preamble of the Constitution of Serbia was a reference to Kosovo and Metohija as an integral part of the Republic of Serbia, resulting in the secession of this province de jure was impossible.

It was in the Constitution of Ukraine Article 73which stated: “Only an all-Ukrainian referendum can decide on a change in the territory of Ukraine.”

Therefore, any referendum held in one or several regions of Ukraine on the creation of independent states clearly violated the current Constitution of Ukraine.

Reuters/Scanpix photo/Crimea

However, in addition to these obvious similarities, there are also a number of significant differences.

First and foremost, before the unilateral declaration of independence in Kosovo, there was long-term inter-ethnic conflictethnic cleansing and massacres involving both Yugoslav and Kosovo Albanians to varying degrees.

In Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, before the creation of “people’s republics” and “independent” regions, there were no inter-ethnic or inter-confessional conflicts similar to what happened in Kosovo.

Second, the governance of Kosovo in 1999-2008. was established United Nations Security Council Resolution no. 1244.

It ordered the withdrawal of all Yugoslav military and police forces and transferred the administration of the province to the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

This agreement also recognized by the Yugoslav authorities.

Reuters/Scanpix photo/The illegal Crimean referendum has ended.

United Nations intervention

From the time the government of Yugoslavia (Serbia) lost power in Kosovo until the declaration of independence, the territory was governed by an administration officially recognized by the authorities of Yugoslavia (Serbia) and the UN Security Council.

In the same in resolution No. 1244 a transitional period was foreseen, after which the final status of Kosovo was to be determined.

With respect to Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, the UN Security Council did not establish such an order, and similar political processes were not carried out in them.

Finally, at the time of Kosovo’s declaration of independence, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), whose territorial integrity was confirmed by Resolution no. 1244, ceased to exist – it was transformed into the State Commonwealth of Serbia and Montenegro, which broke away from it after the secession of Montenegro.

And while Serbia’s rights to the province of Kosovo and Metohija derive from its status as a legal successor to the rights of the FRG, the de facto and internationally recognized change of state borders can also be considered as an additional argument in favor of Kosovo’s right to secession.

Similar processes simply did not take place in Ukraine.

It is clear that the situation has a number of fundamental differences, the most important of which is the long-term inter-ethnic conflict that took place in Kosovo, when there was nothing similar in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Legally void “referendums”

S. Lavrov’s references to the fact that a “referendum” was held in Crimea are also unconvincing from a legal point of view, because in 2014 The “referendum” held in Crimea did not comply with the basic principles and standards of international law.

approved by the Venice Commission In the “Code of Recommended Norms on Referendums”to which the Council of Europe is focused (of which it was a member until 2014 there was also Russia), positive:

“The decision to organize a referendum must be made in compliance with the applicable legal order in general and in particular with the applicable procedural rules.

First of all, a referendum cannot be organized in cases that are not provided for in the Constitution or one of its relevant laws; for example, if the question submitted to a general vote falls under the exclusive competence of the parliament”.

As mentioned, the Crimean independence referendum directly contradicted the Ukrainian Constitution. Therefore, according to the norms approved by the Venice Commission (and accordingly the Council of Europe), it was illegal.

Reuters/Scanpix photo/Referendum advertisement in Crimea

In addition, its organization was questionable in other respects. For example, in referendums equal conditions must be ensured for supporters and opponents of the issue under considerationand “authorities (at national, regional and local levels) must not influence the results of the vote by excessive and one-sided campaigning”.

In addition, the preparation should be quite long; legislation related to the referendum should not be changed for one year before it.

Finally, in 2014 in the spring Russian soldiers who were in Crimea in principle does not allow to talk about any free expression of the will of the nation. The situation was similar in the occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia.

AFP/”Scanpix” photo/Russian armored vehicles with “green men” near the city of Kramtorsk

15min verdict: missing context. Important differences between the situations described are not taken into account.

The publication was prepared in 15 minutes in partnership with Metawhich aims to stop the spread of misleading news on the social network. More about the program and its rules – here.