The results of the four referendums on joining the Russian Federation which were held in the independent region of Donbass and in Ukraine have been announced:

– Donetsk: 99% yes

– Lugansk: 98% yes

– Zaporizhya: 93% yes

– Kherson: 87% yes

These referendums are not recognized by the G7 and NATO member states.

Nevertheless, under international law, they are totally legal. According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966 (not signed by the USA) and the judgment of the International Court of Justice of 30 June 1995 (by which the USA is bound), it is up to all the member states of the United Nations to facilitate the holding of referendums for the self-determination of peoples and to abide by its results.

Only one objection can be raised: the prevailing circumstances did not guarantee the impartiality of the process. This objection could apply to the Zaporizhya and Kherson oblasts, from which part of the population had fled and where electoral campaigns could not be carried out, but not to the Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, whose populations already expressed themselves in the past on the same theme and in the same way.

Should we believe that these referendums were not fair and impartial, our duty should have been to help ensure their regularity, rather than condemning them in advance.