UN World Tourism Organization suspends Russia membership

The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) suspended Russia’s membership this Wednesday (27) in an extraordinary session.
The Russian government announced that it would resign a few hours before the meeting.

“WTO members voted to suspend Russia. Gathered for a first extraordinary WTO General Assembly, members discussed Russia’s suspension from the organization. Russia refused to step up and defend its position and announced its withdrawal from the UNWTO,” the organization announced on Twitter.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba commented on the case also on Twitter: “I thank all the members who supported this movement. The only direction of travel for Russian war criminals should be The Hague. Russia’s isolation will deepen with each day of its war against Ukraine.”

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the country’s departure from the UN World Tourism Organization in a statement.

“The Russian side does not consider it convenient to continue working at the UNWTO, whose leadership tolerates the politicization of its activities and openly supports discrimination against our country. In this regard, the Russian Federation has decided to withdraw from the World Tourism Organization.

Russia has already been suspended in another UN Council

This is not the first UN Council to suspend Russia’s membership after the start of the Ukraine war. In April, the country was removed from the Human Rights Council, with 93 votes in favor of the measure, 24 against and 58 abstentions – including Brazil.