Following the request of Guatemala, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, and Ukraine for the
suspension of the Russian Federation from membership of UNWTO, the UNWTO
Secretary-General has called for an emergency session of the Executive Council to
address the matter, in accordance with Rule 3.4 of the Council’s Rules of Procedure.

This is a drastic change from 2019 when the UNWTO General Assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia, had officially adopted the International Convention on Tourism Ethics and called it “a big step forward as UNWTO works to make the global tourism sector fairer, more ethical, and more transparent.”

The decision was made following consultations between the Secretary-General and the Chair of the Executive Council (Côte d´Ivoire).

The in-person Council session will be held on March 8 in Madrid. It is the first time in
the Organization’s history that the Executive Council will address a request of this type.

Article 3 of the UNWTO Statutes states that the fundamental principles of the Organization are the “promotion and development of tourism with a view to contributing to economic development, international understanding, peace, prosperity and universal respect for, and observance of, human rights.”

UNWTO has unequivocally condemned the actions of the Russian Federation, noting
that they are making a clear breach of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity and contrary to the principles enshrined in the UN Charter and UNWTO Statutes.

World Tourism Network applauded this move with some reservations, and a different approach. VP Walter Mzembi, who was a candidate for UNWTO Secretary-General in 2018 had recommended:

Before the suspension, UNWTO should appoint a peace mission to Russia to plead with the administration in Russia and see the necessity of peace as an underwriter of successful travel and tourism. This may be a better approach instead of taking a divisive position, which could split the organization on opinion and eventually physically, too.
Secondly, suspension of a member is a political decision that may not necessarily rest with Tourism Ministers and will require broader consultation with home governments. At the same time UNWTO itself is part of the UN Cabinet. It cannot act unilaterally while Russia itself sits right there in the Security Council with veto power.

UNWTO Secretary-General Pololikashville must designate a special envoy to handle and balance this assignment and recuse himself personally because of what he may be otherwise accused of – a conflict of interest.

Mzembi’s advice to Pololikashville is: Follow due process rules and recuse yourself. The Secretary-General may be seen as having a conflict of interest given the centrality of his native country Georgia getting tangled into the current Ukraine conflict.

WTN agrees with the principle of sanctioning an errant member State but is questioning the process, the methodology, and whether current UNWTO statutes speak to political censure.

The World Tourism Network suggests to the UNWTO Executive Council to consider putting in place an “in-between” status moving Russia from a member to an observer for example.