Ukraine - Security Council, 9243rd meeting

Delegate Says Only Moscow Can Bring about Peace by Ending Violations of Neighbour’s Sovereignty, Political Independence, Territorial Integrity.

With the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine less than six weeks away, a top United Nations peacebuilding official used today’s Security Council briefing to paint a grim winter picture of the humanitarian and human rights catastrophe pervading a country with nearly 6 million internally displaced people.

Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, told delegates the invasion by the Russian Federation has traumatized a generation of children and closed their schools while leaving countless civilians hungry, cold and without homes as the country’s infrastructure and supply chains are destroyed. nbsp;“The war has forced millions to flee their homes,” she said, adding that 65 per cent of the internally displaced people are women and girls. nbsp;The war is leaving invisible scars, she said, noting that nearly a quarter of the country’s population is reportedly at risk of developing a mental-health condition, with 5.7 million school-aged children impacted directly.

In the ensuring debate, delegates once again deplored the Russian Federation’s military aggression against Ukraine that began 22 February 2022 and the sustained violation of international criminal and humanitarian law and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

Speaking in his national capacity, Ishikane Kimihiro (Japan), Council President for January, strongly condemned Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine. nbsp;He urged the Russian Federation to immediately stop its war, withdraw all its troops from Ukraine and respect that country’s independence and territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized borders. nbsp;He also condemned Moscow’s attacks against civilian infrastructure and cities across Ukraine, adding the destruction of energy infrastructure has seriously aggravated the humanitarian situation during the harsh winter.

France’s delegate voiced concern with the devastating consequences of Moscow’s aggression on global food security, which the country uses “as a weapon of war and an instrument of blackmail”, while praising the Black Sea Grain Initiative’s effectiveness. nbsp;Moscow has consistently shown it does not wish to see peace, he warned, stressing that peace can only be achieved by full withdrawal of the Russian Federation’s troops from the whole of Ukraine.

Many Council members also urged each other to intensify their collective efforts to keep the conflict from escalating and reduce the risk of a miscalculation. nbsp;Noting the Council has met more than 40 times since last February to discuss the war, the representative of the United Arab Emirates reiterated that there is no viable military solution to sustainably end the conflict. nbsp;The international community must use active and deliberate diplomacy. nbsp;“We must also preserve the space for positive interactions between the sides, at the very least, to normalize engagement,” she said, adding that incentives should be provided through a post-war vision that is just and sustainable.

Ghana’s delegate urged the Council to consider a clear-cut peace process involving the parties and all other relevant stakeholders. nbsp;This process would require the good-faith commitment of all Council members to find pragmatic and mutually acceptable solutions, grounded in the rules of international law and the Charter’s values. nbsp;“It is most pressing for the Security Council to find common ground upon which it can accelerate action for peace in Ukraine,” she said, adding that the situation depends on the Russian Federation’s decision to stop its violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity.

Yet, the Russian Federation’s delegate said that Kyiv and its sponsors have completely forgotten the meaning of the word “peace”, adding that the European Union is financing arms deliveries to Ukraine through the European Peace Facility. nbsp;Condemning “the NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] war by proxy to the last Ukrainian”, he spotlighted elements necessary for peace to prevail in the country. nbsp;He opposed the notion that the aim of the “special military operation” is to destroy Ukraine as a State. nbsp;Moscow has never set such goals and the Russian Federation is not waging war with the Ukrainian people, but with the criminal nationalist regime which assumed power in 2014 after an anti-constitutional coup supported by the West, proclaiming the policy of “de-Russifying” Ukraine and glorifying “Nazi collaborators”.

Emine Dzhaparova, First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 10-point peace formula aims to ensure security in all its dimensions. nbsp;These include food security, radiation and nuclear safety, energy security, countering ecocide and preventing future aggression. nbsp;She called on all responsible nations to facilitate and promote the peace formula. nbsp;She also stressed that the international community should be united in pressuring Moscow to destroy its war machine, pointing out that the aggressor State has already felt the impact of sanctions regardless of whether it admits this.

Noting that the International Criminal Court does not have sufficient jurisdictional power to prosecute the Russian Federation’s aggression, she called for the establishment of a special tribunal to hold Russian war criminals accountable. nbsp;“If Ukraine stops fighting, it will die”, but if the Russian Federation stops its aggression, the war will end, she said.

The representative of Lithuania, also speaking for Estonia and Latvia, said the Baltic States fully support Kyiv’s initiative to create a special tribunal for the punishment of the crime of aggression against Ukraine. nbsp;“There must be no impunity for Russia’s crimes committed on Ukrainian soil,” he said.

The international community must help Ukraine win this war and endure the winter, including through urgent provisions of specialized energy equipment and repairing destroyed energy infrastructure, he said. nbsp;Along with the European Union, the three countries will continue to develop options to use frozen Russian Federation assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction and for reparations, in line with international law. nbsp;“We must ensure that the principle ‘aggressor pays the damage’ is fully implemented in practice,” he said. nbsp;He welcomed all meaningful efforts to bring the Russian Federation’s war of aggression to an end, including the 10-point peace formula proposed by Ukraine’s President.

Also speaking today were representatives of Albania, United States, Ecuador, Mozambique, Switzerland, China, Brazil, Ghana, Gabon, Malta, United Kingdom and Poland, as well as the European Union.

The meeting began at 3:04 p.m. and ended at 5:12 p.m.