Statements by the Russian occupation administrations regarding fictitious referendums on the accession of Ukrainian territories to the Russian Federation violate the legislation of Ukraine, a number of norms of international law and human rights. This was stated by the former Deputy Prosecutor General Gunduz Mammadov.

He added that such fake referendums would be declared legally null and void..

In his article for Radio Liberty, Mammadov explained that the statements of the occupiers about fake referendums immediately resemble a parallel with the events in Crimea in 2014.. However, according to him, since then the political situation has changed and as a result of the full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, most world leaders, as well as opinion leaders, realized that trying to appease the Russian Federation after the occupation of Crimea was a mistake, the consequences of which Ukraine and the world are forced to fight now..

Mammadov noted that the modern legislation of Ukraine provides for national and local referendums. However, local referendums are not yet held due to the lack of a legislative framework for their implementation..

According to Mammadov, the subject of an all-Ukrainian referendum, and not a local one, among other things, may be the issue of changing the territory of Ukraine.

However, the subject of an all-Ukrainian referendum cannot be issues aimed at eliminating the independence of Ukraine, as well as violating its sovereignty or territorial integrity, creating a threat to national security and inciting ethnic, racial or religious hatred..

Mammadov also noted that referendums are often criticized for being manipulative in nature, since the answers and, ultimately, the decisions largely depend on how the question is asked..

“In any case, the fundamental principle of referendums is precisely democratic. Under non-democratic political regimes, pseudo-referendums, unfortunately, become a convenient tool for manipulation and imitation of the will of the people,” Mammadov said, adding that this? strategy for the implementation of the aggressive policy was chosen by Russia.

Fake referendums violate Art.. 73 of the Constitution of Ukraine, according to which only an all-Ukrainian referendum resolves issues of changing the territory of the country.

Mammadov also explained what international norms are violated by pseudo-referendums in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine..

In particular, they violate Art.. 43 of the 1907 Hague Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land (according to which the occupying state must comply to the maximum extent possible with the national laws of the occupied state) and Art.. 47 of the IV Geneva Convention on the Inviolability of the Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories. Mammadov also recalled the violation of the UN Charter regarding the principle of inviolability of borders and the sovereignty of states.

In addition, pseudo-referendums in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine violate human rights.. The invaders initiated a fake vote without the consent of the local population, ignoring the basic right to choose and participate in the government of their state, which is contrary to h. 1 st. 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Mammadov also stressed that the Russian authorities manipulate the concepts of international law, in particular, the concepts of "

“However, now, unlike in 2014, both the reaction of Ukraine and the reaction of the world is different..

All the Kremlin’s actions to hold so-called “referendums” in the Ukrainian occupied territories only strengthen support for Ukraine and strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation. And the results of such “referendums” will most likely be recognized as legally null and void,” Mammadov said..

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Recall that on Tuesday, September 20, the Russian occupation " The world community has already managed to respond to such intentions of the occupiers and declared the non-recognition of the results of the "