The German parliament discussed the amendments to Minsk agreements regarding the Donbas, among which is a temporary replacement of the so-called “DPR” and “LPR” governments by the international administration.
Germany is convinced that Ukraine is “a cornerstone that guarantees the stability of the European system of safety”. That is why the country suggests new ways of finding a solution to Ukraine’s conflict with Russia – a conflict that threatens the aforementioned system.
Renata Alt, a member of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Bundestag from the FDP faction, was the one to propose the international administration idea.
“The Minsk agreements are basically dead. It is important for me to give a new impetus for the process to move forward again,” she believes.
The politician is convinced that the problem lays not only in Russia’s lack of desire to resolve the conflict but also in structural flaws of the Minsk agreements.
Her faction suggested adding specific terms, priorities and consequences for inactivity to the Minsk Protocol. German politicians also insist on establishing the UN control over the Russian-Ukrainian border and withdrawing all civil and paramilitary armed groups from the Donbas.
As for the transitional international administration, her faction believes that one of its tasks would be organizing and holding free elections in the territories.
“It is imperative to have an operational unit that would work with the Ukrainian police to maintain public order. This would increase Eastern Ukrainians’ trust in state law enforcement agencies,” Alt added.
In international practice, temporary international administrations serve as a form of legitimate governance during the transitional period in the territories where the legitimate governments are not functioning. The creation of such an administration is being agreed upon by the conflict’s sides and the UN Security Council, which adopts the relevant resolution on the basis of Chapter VII of the UN Charter “Actions regarding threats to peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression”. The UN has repeatedly utilized this solution in various situations that have arisen as a result of decolonization (West Irian, Namibia), the collapse of states (territory of the former Yugoslavia), internal conflict (Cambodia) or foreign occupation (East Timor).
There are more than a dozen examples in the world of how international administrations contributed to restoring or establishing order in certain territories. According to experts, however, Ukraine should especially pay attention to the experience of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES), which contributed to reintegrating this territory into Croatia.
Experts of the International Centre for Policy Studies were the first in Ukraine to suggest a transitional administration as an expedient model for resolving the conflict.
As “Apostrophe” reported earlier, the militants in the Donbas announced through OSCE observer mission that they refuse to carry out a cease-fire along the contact line.