On 27 April 2022, in Madrid, the resolution was adopted during the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly’s extraordinary session to suspend the Russian Federation in its rights as a member of the Organization.

The request to suspend Russia’s membership was put forward, among others, by Poland due to Russia waging the war on Ukraine, which is in obvious contradiction with the Organization’s main statutory purpose, i.e. 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 and fundamental freedoms.

The resolution is the Organization's first ever case of suspending a country’s membership of the UNWTO.

The decision to suspend Russia demonstrates the international community’s opposition to the unprovoked, unjustified, and illegal Russian aggression against Ukraine, and Russia’s power politics which are in flagrant breach of the international law and fundamental principles enshrined in the UN Charter and other international documents underpinning the contemporary international order.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is a United Nations specialized agency, established in 1975, seated in Madrid. Poland is one of its 160 member states since the agency’s very beginning in 1975.