The announcement came before the meeting of its Extraordinary General Assembly, which was to take place today and tomorrow in Madrid, decided on the possible suspension of the country as a member due to its invasion of Ukraine.
The UNWTO said Russia must follow due process and it will take a year to complete its withdrawal from the world organization, even though the suspension is effective “immediately.”
Despite the withdrawal by the country’s own decision, the meeting of the Extraordinary General Assembly continues and the member states will also vote whether to suspend Russia.
In its provisional agenda for the meeting, the “consideration of the suspension of the membership of the Russian Federation in accordance with article 34 of the Statutes” appears in fifth place, the Europa Press news agency reported.
As described in the executive summary, under item 5 of the agenda, the matter is brought to the attention of the Assembly “given the unprecedented nature of the application of article 34 of the Statutes to a member at the request of another member “.
For the suspension of Russia to materialize, the support of two thirds of the 160 member states that make up the organization will be necessary, after the recommendation of the executive council, made up of 35 countries and approved with 72% of the votes in favor.
For its part, Spain was going to support the temporary suspension of Russia as a member of the UNWTO, according to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, last month.
In addition, the extraordinary meeting is expected to also approve the election of the president and vice-presidents, as well as the designation of the members of the Credentials Committee and the report of the Credentials Committee.
The decision to hold an extraordinary assembly, unprecedented so far in the organization’s history, was made at the UNWTO Executive Council held in the Spanish capital on March 8.
The council met at the request of member countries such as Colombia, Slovenia, Guatemala, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine, following the unilateral actions undertaken by Russia on Ukrainian territory.
This is the first time in the history of the UNWTO that the executive council meets to deal with a request for suspension of a member of the organization.
The call for this extraordinary assembly was approved by a total of 72% of votes in favor. The result was 13 positive votes against five against.
They were shown against Russia, China, Zambia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
According to the UNWTO, the aggression against Ukraine is “incompatible” with the Charter of the United Nations and contravenes the fundamental objectives of the UNWTO, to develop tourism as a way to contribute to the promotion of the world economy and peace.
Source: Ambito
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