Human Rights in Ukraine vs. its Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity

In connection with the Ukrainian crisis, Western politicians very often mention the UN Charter, namely those articles of the Charter that speak of the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries.

But these politicians in this case never refer to the very first article of the above-mentioned Charter, which speaks of the need to respect human rights and the need to ensure the right of nations to self-determination; see below the quotes from the official UN website:

Article 1

The Purposes of the United Nations are: …

2. To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples…;

3. To achieve international co-operation … in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion;

See also another article of the Charter below:

Article 55

With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and well-being which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, the United Nations shall promote:...

3. universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.

And when it is advantageous for Western politicians, they begin to talk about the need to protect human rights and self-determination of people even to the detriment of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a particular country.

For example, in 1999, NATO aircraft bombed Belgrade in support of the Kosovo Albanians' struggle for independence. And in 2008, Western countries recognized Kosovo's independence from Serbia, even though this independence was declared in violation of the Serbian Constitution and Serbia did not recognize this independence.

In 2003, the US and its NATO allies violated Iraqi sovereignty and invaded this country under the false pretext of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. When no such weapons were found, the US claimed to have invaded to protect the rights of Iraqi citizens.

And in 2011, the US and its allies bombed Libya, allegedly to protect the rights of its citizens too.

If we now return to the Ukrainian crisis, it is clear that after the coup d'état in that country in February 2014, the human rights situation there has significantly worsened, in particular in the sphere of rights of ethnic minorities and in the sphere of mass media; see my article What kind of a country is modern Ukraine?

Therefore, a number of regions that were previously parts of Ukraine: the Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson Oblasts decided in referendums to leave Ukraine and join the Russian Federation.

However, the Kyiv authorities began to threaten with military measures, in particular, for a “reintegration of the Crimea into Ukraine.”

The Kiev regime's troops also constantly shelled the territory of Donbas, so in February 2022 the Russian government decided to launch a special military operation in Ukraine; see my article Has the Russian Special Military Operation in Ukraine been provoked?

From the above, we can conclude that the requirements of the UN Charter must be considered as a whole, without singling out those articles that are beneficial to Western politicians at a given moment.

The picture above is taken from my article Nazi insignia on Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk region.