DISINFO: UN Chief: Self-determination applies to Greenland but not to Crimea or Donbas
SUMMARY
Self-determination applies to Greenland but not to Crimea or Donbass, according to the UN Chief. The United Nations believes that the right for self-determination is not applicable in Crimea and Donbas, like it does in Greenland, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday.
RESPONSE
This is a disingenuous manipulation of the original statement of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who did not mention Greenland in his commentary. And although the person who asked the question mentioned this territory in her introductory sentence, Greenland did not feature explicitly in the question itself either. According to UN transcripts, the exchange was:
'Question: Thank you, Secretary-General, for your briefing. As it was said before, in case of Greenland, the United Nations, along with principle of territorial integrity, believes in right of self-determination of nations. Does the UN believe that the right of self-determination applicable to Crimea and Donbas?
Secretary-General: We have had very interesting discussions on this. And there are two principles that are essential. First principle is territorial integrity of States. The other principle is self-determination of peoples. But, self-determination of peoples has a number of requisites. So, the way it is defined has a number of requisites. And after a very careful study by our Office of Legal Affairs, it is our position that the principle of self-determination does not apply in the situations of Crimea and Donbas. So, in that situation, the principle that prevails is the principle of the territorial integrity of Ukraine'.
However, by falsely claiming that Mr. Guterres had mentioned Greenland in the same press conference, this disinformation story manipulates the framework in order to portray the head of the UN as hypocritical and biased against Russia.
Quoting Western legitimate sources while distorting their content to introduce a pro-Kremlin message as if it were part of the original story is a frequent pro-Kremlin manipulative technique. Similarly, accusing international institutions of an anti-Russian bias and politicisation and calling for 'real and impartial investigations' when these bodies probe the misdeeds of Russia or its allies, such as the downing of the MH17 flight or the use of chemical weapons in Syria and other places, is a regular pro-Kremlin disinformation tactic.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the UN human rights body is whitewashing Kyiv's neo-Nazi crimes, that the West employed hybrid warfare against Russia in the UN General Assembly, that OSCE is a criminal organisation that is in favour of war in Donbas, that World Anti-Doping Agency’s accusations are Russophobic provocations, or that OPCW has become a tool in the hands of hostile countries.