Press Releases

Today, U.S. Congressman Garret Graves (South Louisiana) sent a letter to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, calling for Russia's ejection from the UN Security Council.

Dear Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield:

​I write to you today appalled by the atrocities being committed by the Russian Federation against the sovereign government and people of Ukraine. Today, after months of strategic troop movements and overt threats, President Vladimir Putin has begun a multi-front invasion of Ukraine that has already resulted in military and civilian casualties. Hours after the so-called "special military operation" to "demilitarize" Ukraine began, the Russian military is working to destroy components of Ukraine's military infrastructure and attacked urban and municipal areas with wanton disregard for human life. Russia's aggressive behavior against Ukraine is not only reprehensible, but also fundamentally incompatible with the behavior that should be expected of a permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council.

​According to Article 24 of the U.N. Charter, the Security Council is charged with acting on behalf of the U.N. General Assembly for the "maintenance of international peace and security." It is solely up to the Security Council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to recommend a course of action to the General Assembly. For Russia, one of five nations entrusted with veto authority and the country currently in the position of chair of the Security Council, to attack and attempt to occupy another sovereign nation is in contravention of rationality and the very function of the U.N. Last night, when the Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.N. went to plead with the Security Council to stop the aggression, he was required to make his request to his Russian counterpart – and he was promptly dismissed.

​Russia's current permanent status on the Security Council and veto authority will hamstring continued progress toward peace in Europe. I write to ask you to commit with working with our allies to fully investigate options to remove Russia from the Security Council. This investigation should include a thorough evaluation of whether the Russian Federation is even a legitimate permanent member of the Security Council, since no vote to admit the Russian Federation was ever held before the General Assembly and the permanent position on the Security Council was for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and has not been amended (Article 23 of the U.N. Charter).

​Putin's aggressive military actions violate the U.N. Charter, which in its preamble states that "armed force should not be used, save in the common interest." As such, it is appalling to watch the country that is currently chairing the Security Council attack and occupy a sovereign nation with a democratically elected government. Such aggression has no place in 2022. It is critical that the U.N. take swift action to punish Russia for its violation of the U.N. Charter and remove the Russian Federation from the Security Council.

Click here to read the letter. ​