YouSaid · the spoken record

Petro Poroshenko

lines on the record: 76
first: 2016-09-24
most recent: 2018-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Our Organization is only as strong as we want and allow it to be. Therefore, our full support and strong political will are required to ensure that the United Nations remains relevant in today’s uncertain and turbulent times, and relevant, as is rightly stated in the theme of this general debate, to all people. It is our mission and shared responsibility to empower the United Nations to do what is expected of the Organization and to do it through our global leadership based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and tolerance.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, Ukraine particularly welcomes the United Nations initiatives aimed at reducing global hunger. Today, with more than 850 million people starving around the world, my country cannot stand idle and is ready to offer its help to the world in addressing the issue of food security. Ukraine knows the cost of that tragedy like no one else. In November, we will mark the eighty- fifth anniversary of one of the deadliest crimes of the twentieth century — that of the Holodomor, which saw mass starvation in Ukraine, artificially created by the Stalinist regime. It took the lives of several million Ukrainians. In that regard, I would like to renew my appeal to the Assembly to mark one of the greatest tragedies in human history by adopting a dedicated declaration.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Despite heavy security and defence expenses, totalling more than 6 per cent of its GDP, Ukraine is undergoing fundamental transformations on social, economic and political tracks. We have consistently implemented progressive reforms, ranging in areas from the judiciary, education, health care and public administration to carrying out decentralization and fighting corruption. During the period 2019-2021, Ukraine will take on an important responsibility as a member of the Economic and Social Council. Based on its extensive recent experience, my country looks forward to using its membership to strengthen the role of the Economic and Social Council in following up and reviewing the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, with particular regard to conflict and post-conflict settings.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We therefore support the efforts to bring back human rights issues to the Security Council and promote close cooperation among all the relevant United Nations bodies in that area. My country is delivering on its commitments under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. Ukraine’s economy grew in the second quarter of 2018 at an annual rate of 3.8 per cent. That marks the tenth consecutive quarter of growth, which is clearly a sustainable trend. The increase in gross domestic product (GDP) was helped by macroeconomic stabilization, an improved investment climate and a clean-up of the banking sector. Ukraine is demonstrating the best dynamics of growth among the emerging markets.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“That is just another side of Russia’s recklessness — first sending and inciting its own citizens into this war and then simply abandoning them afterwards. That is the thing about today’s Russia: it absolutely does not care. It does not care about suffering. It does not care about truth. It does not care about the law. It thinks that its military might and status at the United Nations gives it that right. It is up to us to prove it wrong. It is up to us to make it care. Otherwise, what is the point of us being here? What would be the difference between the era before the United Nations and that with the United Nations? In a broader context, Ukraine has always considered the protection of human rights as one of the cornerstones of United Nations activities. Sustainable peace and security cannot be achieved in isolation from human rights.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Unfortunately, the Kremlin remains blind and deaf to those appeals from the international community and from many of Russia’s intellectuals. I call on States Members of the United Nations to strengthen their efforts in demanding respect for human rights in the temporarily occupied Crimea by adopting the relevant General Assembly draft resolutions. There are also dozens of Ukrainians being held by the occupiers in the Donbas region since the start of the Russian aggression in 2014. Ukrainian soldier Serhii Glondar has never seen his youngest daughter, as he has been held captive for three-and-a-half years. All Ukrainian proposals to exchange Russian citizens convicted of crimes against our sovereignty and territorial integrity for the Ukrainian citizens being held as political prisoners by the Kremlin remain unanswered.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The list of hostages and victims owing to the Russian occupation regime in Crimea is growing longer by the day. Being of Ukrainian or Crimean identity seems to be a criminal offence in today’s reality on the occupied peninsula. A Crimean farmer, Volodymyr Balukh, was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison for raising a Ukrainian flag over his private residence. Crimean film director Oleg Sentsov remains behind bars in a remote penal colony in northern Russia, serving a 20-year prison term on fabricated charges. Both Oleg and Volodymyr are hanging in the balance between life and death as they remain on hunger strike. I highly appreciate the extraordinary manifestation of support and unity throughout the world in seeking the freedom of those brave people.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It has been almost four years since Russia’s attempted annexation and illegal occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol. Under Russian occupation, Crimea has become a military stronghold, threatening the security and stability of the entire Black Sea region. We believe that the increasing militarization of Crimea deserves the General Assembly’s close attention and prompt reaction. Russia’s aggressive policies and arrogance in using lethal weapons multiply that threat. In that regard, Ukraine is counting on the active support of the General Assembly to implement the relevant resolutions during this session. Since the first day of the illegal occupation of Crimea, Crimean Tatars and ethnic Ukrainians have faced repression and discrimination. There are many cases of murder, torture, harassment and arrest on fabricated charges.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“However, Russia continues to ignore that ruling, demonstrating its disregard not only for its international obligations but also for the Court. Another important element of our case before the International Court of Justice is the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17, in the year 2014, and the role of the Russian Federation in that tragedy. It is important that Australia and the Netherlands recently joined Ukraine in its efforts to bring Russia to account. The international community has repeatedly called on Russia to acknowledge its responsibility and change its destructive behaviour in Ukraine and elsewhere. We know that following the legal pathway is a lengthy process, but we are confident that it will allow us to achieve justice in the end.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Let me stress that Ukraine has always put first legal and diplomatic means of conflict resolution. We have prioritized multilateralism by turning to support from the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe, as well as other international organizations, forums and mechanisms. We will continue along that path. Moscow will feel the strength of the rule of international law. We have initiated several legal cases against the Russian side in international courts. We have already achieved important results in some of those cases. In particular, at the beginning of 2017, the International Court of Justice ordered Russia to lift the ban on the activities of the Mejlis — the representative body of Crimean Tatars in occupied Crimea.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We hoped for a mission with a strong mandate and broad responsibilities to help bring peace back to Ukrainian soil, rather than freeze the conflict or cement the presence of the aggressor and its proxies in Donbas. We firmly count on further progress on that important issue. After all — and perfectly in line with the theme for this general debate, “Making the United Nations relevant to all people” — it is through Security Council-mandated peacekeeping operations that the United Nations can save countless lives and prevent further suffering. We remain as determined as ever to continue to defend every inch of our territory against aggression. At the same time, we will continue to explore all available means to end the conflict peacefully and restore the territorial integrity of my country.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It is a timely opportunity for Member States and the United Nations leadership to consider measures leading to effective and real changes to United Nations peacekeeping. That is the same peacekeeping that Ukraine has been asking the United Nations to deploy to its territory since April 2015, when I addressed my request, with the support of the Parliament of Ukraine, to the President of the Security Council, the President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General. After the failure of the United Nations in preventing aggression against Ukraine, we still hoped that the Organization would help to settle the conflict by deploying a United Nations-mandated multinational peacekeeping force to the occupied Donbas region.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It is time to say that the abuse of the right to veto is a constraint that often prevents our Organization from acting. We believe that progress on the reform of the Security Council will be an important contribution to the ongoing broader change at the United Nations. We support launching text-based talks within intergovernmental negotiations and are ready to engage constructively in that process. We also expect that the ongoing reform of the peace and security pillar, which was envisaged by the Secretary-General with the support of the General Assembly, will contribute to the speed and ability of the Organization to react to the emerging threats to international peace and security. Ukraine fully shares the approach of the Secretary-General to the peacekeeping activity of the Organization under his Action for Peacekeeping concept.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Member States should be provided with every possibility for in-depth considerations of all urgent situations that require the attention of the international community. As outlined by the President of the General Assembly, we have to facilitate quick and effective responses to emergency situations by the General Assembly. As one of the Vice-Presidents of the General Assembly at its seventy-third session, Ukraine stands ready to contribute to that. As Member States, we conferred on the Security Council the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. What should we do if a veto-holding member of the Security Council uses that right to veto in order to help itself escape from responsibility, rather than to help international peace and stability?”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“No more words are needed; it is the time for deeds. The United Nations must gain momentum, as there are continued attempts to ruin the rules-based international order and forcefully revise internationally recognized State borders. That dangerous slide towards a world with no civilized rules must be stopped. In that regard, there is a need to revitalize and strengthen the role of the General Assembly in the area of international peace and security. With conflicts spreading, we must ensure the maximum flexibility and comprehensiveness when it comes to the agenda of the General Assembly, which is the only inclusive and the chief policymaking forum. That is why Ukraine introduced to the agenda of the current session of the General Assembly the item entitled “The situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine”.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Such brutal actions must be rejected as illegal, including under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. They require a strong response, including an enhanced sanctions policy and other targeted measures. The efficiency of international actions often falls short of expectations, and the relevance of the United Nations itself is called into question. We must admit that the responsibility for resolving the current state of affairs rests on all of us, both collectively and individually. If we are committed to building peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies, we must protect the Charter of the United Nations, uphold its norms and principles and take resolute action to restore justice. Let me put it more precisely: the beautiful language of the Charter is worth nothing if it is not enforced.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Let me be absolutely clear on the following point: nothing will stop Moscow from continuing its aggressive, expansionist policies if it does not face a united stand by the international community and punishment for its actions does not become inevitable. It is due to the lack of relevant punishment that after Georgia came Ukraine, after Litvinenko came the Skripals and after Aleppo came Idlib. The Kremlin has no intention of stopping. Following the occupation of Crimea, it now aims to occupy the Sea of Azov, situated between Ukraine and Russia, and, having illegally constructed a bridge across the Kerch Strait, Russia launched its systematic disruption of Ukrainian and foreign ships and the freedom of international navigation through the Strait.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“In the absence of a strong and united reaction, an extremely irresponsible and selfish actor resorts to the tactic of further escalation, which creates new crises, raises the stakes, and blackmails other countries and even entire international organizations — all in an effort to get away with murder. We shall not allow this to happen. We will put the world back on track. What is the cure? In a word, it is responsibility. The ability of the international community to ensure systemic and unerring responsibility for each and every violation of international law — including, first and foremost, the norms and principles of the Charter of the United Nations — is the benchmark measuring how successful we as a family of nations can be in achieving our shared goals. Ensuring responsibility is never an easy feat.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Developments on the international stage over the past decade have seriously undermined such confidence. Appeasement and quick fixes to difficult problems have proved to be false options. It has been proved that staying comfortably silent when international norms are breached does nothing but encourage the offender to continue its destructive policies. The world’s silence is exactly what the Kremlin weaponizes against Ukraine and, ultimately, against all of us. It is naive to believe that safe shores will always be found. There will be no safe shores if we allow someone to feel that he or she will not be bound by any norms or restrictions, that he or she has a right to reshape the international system to his or her liking, or that his or her interests are more legitimate than ours.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Do we know which one of Russia’s neighbours will be the next to attack itself, or will countries around the world be comfortably numb in the hope that they will not be next? As we defend Ukraine’s land and our freedom of choice, and as we counter the resurgent neo-imperialist Power that is willing to divide the world anew, we are also defending the free world. The United Nations should not remain silent while the values and principles rooted in its Charter, as well as the entire body of international law, are being violated by a country with the veto power. This is not just a challenge, but a chance to make the United Nations relevant and the motto of this session of the General Assembly work. How did such a deterioration in world affairs come about? Many assume that respect for peace and international law is a constant given.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It is poisoning Ukrainian soil and causing environmental disasters, not only in occupied Crimea but also in the Donbas region. That has been a daily reality for Ukrainians for four years now: thousands of deaths, destruction, displacement and human suffering. For my fellow citizens, those years have been a tremendous challenge and a test of their determination, solidarity, resilience and faith. Let us not forget what this war is about. Ukraine made a sovereign decision to live on its own terms and promote a freer world based on democratic values and rules. Russia is punishing Ukraine for that decision. It kills, destroys homes, and tells lies on a massive scale. It claims that Ukraine and Georgia have attacked themselves.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Unfortunately, my fellow citizens have become part of that one fifth of the world population that is experiencing the horrors of war. As I deliver my address, reports have brought the sad news of another human life lost on the front lines of a war that has been inflicted on my country by a permanent member of the Security Council. Yesterday and the day before, several families were again struck by grief as their loved ones perished as a result of Russia’s hostile attacks. Moscow turns Ukrainians into orphans, it tortures our patriots in its prisons, and more than 1.5 million people have become internally displaced persons who still cannot return to their homes. Russia continues to multiply the human tragedy, which recently took on a new dimension: ecological.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It has now descended into a volatile and increasingly disturbing state of affairs, where both traditional and hybrid threats challenge the stability of our societies. Too often, lofty rhetoric on peace, respect for international law and commitment to human rights remains precisely that: rhetoric — nice sounding words and politically correct messages that are not backed by concrete action. We may be tempted to talk about achievements or grand plans for the future, yet, from our perspective, it is much more important to address the fundamental problems faced by the United Nations and the international community as a whole. We will never forget that the raison d’être of the Organization is to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“On behalf of Ukraine, I congratulate the President on her election to preside over the General Assembly at its seventy-third session. We support the outlined priorities and are ready to do our part in translating them into reality. Our deliberations are taking place at a defining moment for the United Nations. Despite the universal appeal for peace and a declared commitment to upholding it, wars and armed conflicts remain our reality. Conflicts are the main reason for the increase in number of refugees and displaced persons worldwide — to the unprecedented figure of 65.5 million. Since no peace means no development, hundreds of millions are doomed to misery. The international security environment seemed rock solid less than two decades ago.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“I appeal to all United Nations States Members to make their own historic judgment and to make a decision to recognize the Holodomor as an act of genocide. This is a challenging time for all of us. Ever more people die in wars and natural disasters. Truth is blindsided by post-truth. The world is divided again between those who believe that freedom is indispensable and those who believe that freedom is expendable. One group wants to reach a better future, the other drags us to the past. It is time for those who believe in freedom to come together. It is time for freedom to be strong, convincing and convinced. Let it be that way.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Our intentions in that regard are very serious. Ukraine was the first European country to deposit its instrument of ratification with the United Nations. The United Nations has always played a leading role in ensuring that the crimes of the past can never happen again. The seventy-second session of the General Assembly coincides with the eighty-fifth anniversary of one of the deadliest crimes of the twentieth century — the Holodomor. It was a man- made famine in Ukraine in 1932 and 1933, organized by the totalitarian regime of Stalin, which killed from 7 million to 10 million Ukrainians. Mr. Raphael Lemkin, the author of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted by the General Assembly in 1948, described the destruction of the Ukrainian nation as a classic example of genocide.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“A year and a half ago, the economic situation in Ukraine was so dire that we could only dream about macroeconomic stabilization. Now we have grounds to say that economic recovery is in place. Among our priorities within the 2030 Development Agenda in Ukraine are such areas as ensuring a sustainable energy supply, food security, promoting innovation, development and sustainable infrastructure, as well as promoting an effective public health system, affordable education and decent work. I am convinced that no country alone can achieve sustainable development without sustainable peace and sustainable security. There is also no doubt that the mitigation of global warming remains an indispensable element of sustainable development. I am proud that Ukraine is fully committed to our obligations under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“In January 2017, Ukraine assumed the chairmanship of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005) concerning the Sudan, and we are determined to contribute to the international efforts to resolve the conflict in Darfur. African countries can fully count on Ukraine as their reliable friend. My country is fully committed to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite heavy defence expenses — more than 5 per cent of our gross domestic product — Ukraine continues to go through a fundamental transformation, fighting corruption, promoting judicial reform, implementing decentralization and improving business opportunities.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“As the war there rages on, a huge number of Russian military assets are deployed to Syria by ships based in the Crimean harbour. It is also deeply disturbing that the African continent continues to suffer from numerous unresolved conflicts. As a non-permanent member of the Security Council, my country has spared no effort to support the African continent in safeguarding the main principles of the international order: sovereignty, non-interference in domestic affairs, the rule of law and peaceful settlement of disputes. As the Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013) concerning the Central African Republic, we have actively supported regional and international efforts to stabilize the situation in the Central African Republic.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“At the same time, let me reiterate Ukraine’s call on the Security Council to undertake an in-depth investigation into developments in the North Korean nuclear and missiles programme in order to expose any possible foreign assistant to Pyongyang in that area. We also express our deepest concern over the current situation in Syria. We believe that the full implementation of and adherence to the word and spirit of the 2012 Geneva communiqué (A/66/865, annex) and Security Council resolution 2254 (2015) are absolutely vital for the settlement of the conflict in that country. What draws our special concern with regard to that bloody conflict is Russia’s use of occupied Crimea as a military outpost for projecting power in Syria.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Twenty years after being invaded by one of those who were bound to respect and, if necessary, to protect Ukraine’s border, we neverthless remain a resolute advocate of global non-proliferation and disarmament. That is why we strongly condemn the nuclear tests and multiple launches of ballistic missiles by North Korea. We are deeply concerned about the continuous diversion of resources from critical human needs to fuel Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal, coupled with serious human rights abuses. We resolutely stand for reinforced measures to stop Pyongyang’s illegal activities and to bring North Korea into line with the international legal framework.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“This year, the International Court of Justice started hearing the case brought by Ukraine against Russia for the violation of the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, and we hope that the decision of the United Nations highest court will help bring the Russian Federation to justice for its numerous violations of international law and for financing crimes committed since 2014. As the process begins, we count on the support and facilitation of all States Members of the United Nations. For decades, Ukraine has served as a resolute contributor to global security. In the name of peace and in exchange for security assurances, Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal — the third-largest in the world.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Three years ago, the world was stunned when Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17, with 298 people on board, was blown up in the skies over Donbas. Ukraine is determined to do everything to bring to justice those responsible for that mass murder. Two investigations, technical and criminal, have been carried out. Both revealed the details. Those who were behind that horrible crime came from Russia. The missile came from Russia. The death of the MH-17 victims is on Russia’s conscience. The five countries that comprise the Joint Investigation Team have decided to prosecute those responsible for downing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17 within the Dutch judicial system.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The mission should respect basic United Nations peacekeeping principles and guidelines. One of them is that United Nations peacekeepers should be impartial. There is no place for the aggressor’s personnel. They cannot be a part of it by definition. Let me stress that any abuse of the United Nations peacekeeping toolbox to secure the gains of aggression is absolutely unacceptable. If we have an opportunity to bring peace to the heart of Europe, we should get the conditions right. A robust international presence can also help us cope with the increase in terrorist activities in the conflict-affected areas. The terrorist component in Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine is clearly visible and has become a reality of everyday life in Donbas.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“I want to utter a very strong message — Ukraine will never accept that kind of a deal, nor will the international community.The latest hybrid peacekeeping proposals from Moscow are yet another example of Russia’s real ambitions: to legalize its proxies and to freeze the conflict forever. 17-29395 5/29 We would welcome any proposal that would bring peace to my country. We remain convinced that a full- fledged United Nations peacekeeping operation is the only viable solution to de-escalate, to protect people of Ukraine and to get us closer to a political solution. That is why the peacekeepers’ mandate should cover the entire occupied area, including the Ukrainian- Russian State border. That is the must. As long as the border is used as the main supply route for manpower and weapons to Donbas, there will be no peace in my country.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Russia is not a contributor to international security, but its biggest threat. Russia is perhaps the only country in the world that has conflicts — hot, frozen or potential — with almost all its neighbours. The key problem in Donbas is that Ukraine and Russia strive for completely different things. Ukraine wants peace and restoration of sovereignty over its territory. Russia wants control over Ukraine and undermines every effort to restore our sovereign control within Ukraine’s borders. To that end, Russia tries to exchange peace in Ukraine for Ukraine’s freedom.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We remember the fate of 16-year-old Stepan Chubenko, who was killed with five shots in the head after Russians saw him wearing a Ukrainian ribbon. Another example is the 63-year-old Donetsk theologian Ihor Kozlovsky, who has been in jail for over two years under false accusations and deprived of any communication with his family and friends. Russia still keeps at least 16 Ukrainian political prisoners on its territory. Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov and Ukrainian journalist Roman Suschenko are among the most prominent cases. Just think about it. Stealing other nations’ land, kidnapping people, conducting a hidden war, downing a civilian aircraft, spreading lies globally — is this the kind of behaviour we expect from a permanent member of the Security Council?”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The security and human rights situations in Donbas remain no less dramatic than in Crimea. This year, Ukraine initiated three major ceasefire attempts — the Easter, Harvest and Back-to-School ceasefires. Yet again, Russian occupation troops and their proxies violated them almost immediately. In breach of the Minsk agreements, Russia keeps its regular military in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and continues to supply heavy weapons and ammunition to the occupation troops. It flatly denies the establishment of the OSCE permanent control over the Ukraine-Russia border, and the release of hostages within the Minsk process is completely deadlocked. The list of Ukrainian hostages in Donbas grows constantly. People are captured deliberately. Their only fault is that they have a pro-Ukrainian position.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The time has come to establish a new international group of friends of Ukrainian Crimea to coordinate and promote our common steps. We count on the coordinated and targeted support of our international partners. The militarization of Crimea is another security threat that affects the whole of Southern and Eastern Europe, as well as North Africa and the Middle East. Ukraine strongly condemns the numerous military exercises conducted in occupied Crimea, as well as those close to the borders of Ukraine, in particular that known as West-2017. Together with our neighbours and partners, we urge Russia to ensure full compliance with its commitments under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Vienna Document and other international rules concerning military activity.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The international community must give a proper response to such Russian disregard of its international obligations. It must keep a close eye on Crimea to prevent a new genocide inspired by the modern proponents of Stalin’s totalitarian ideology against the Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians. I rely on the support of delegations here for Ukraine’s initiatives to ensure the observance of human rights in the temporarily occupied Crimea, in particular in a further General Assembly resolution. We need to strengthen the international regime of de-occupation of Crimea. The fact that at the highest international level — the General Assembly — Russia was recognized as an occupying Power proves that we are on the absolutely right track.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Russia blatantly violates resolution 71/205, entitled “Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine)”. It keeps ignoring all requests of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure proper and full access of the international human rights monitoring mission to Crimea. The Kremlin pays no respect to the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice imposed on it. The Court urged Russia to refrain from maintaining or imposing limitations on the ability of the Crimean Tatar community to conserve its representative institutions, including the Mejlis, and to ensure the right for Ukrainian citizens to study in the Ukrainian language.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Anyone disagreeing with the Kremlin risks their freedom, and even their life. Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars get arrested even for posting in social networks or — as was case of the Crimean farmer Volodymyr Balukh, in December 2016 — just for putting a Ukrainian national flag on his private residence. Persecution of the leaders of the Mejlis — the representative organ of Crimean Tatars, whose activities the Russian occupiers banned — continues. Only a week ago, Ahtem Chiygoz, Deputy Head of the Mejlis, was sentenced to eight years in prison for standing up 4/29 17-29395 against the Russian occupation. Another Deputy Head of the Mejlis, Ilmi Umerov, who has a serious health problem, remains under house arrest, not even allowed to leave Crimea for medical treatment.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“This principle needs to be put back on track using whatever means and tools we have at hand. Ukraine is the right place to invest in that noble endeavour, in the name of sustainable peace and security. That is what millions of Ukrainians have struggled for since the beginning of the Russian aggression in 2014 in both Donbas and Crimea. A three-year-long war with Russia has resulted in 10,000 people killed and 7 per cent of Ukrainian territory occupied, and 20 per cent of the Ukrainian economy and industrial output has been seized, destroyed or simply stolen. However, the most horrific thing in this situation is that the Kremlin has consciously chosen the tactics of increasing human suffering. According to human rights activists, the occupied Crimean peninsula has turned into a territory of repression.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Let me take this opportunity to state clearly that we in Ukraine could not agree more with the call for the sovereignty of nations to be universally respected and guaranteed. That very conclusion was timely and rightly raised yesterday from this rostrum. When the United Nations was set up, it was designed to maintain peace and security in the world, based on the principle of respect for the sovereignty of States and the integrity of their borders. The founding nations, including Ukraine, aimed to secure a world where the sovereign rights of free choice would be respected. The five permanent members of the Security Council (P-5) were to safeguard that principle in the name of sustainable peace and security. That was the principle that one of the P-5 member States so blatantly violated against my own country.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“It is time to act, and we have a very narrow window of opportunity to avoid an irreversible decline. The United Nations should be at the forefront of this process. Ukraine has always advocated for the need to reform the Organization to meet the most urgent global challenges in a timely and adequate manner. In that regard, we welcome the efforts of the Secretary- General, since the first day of his mandate, to develop and implement a robust and comprehensive United Nations reform agenda. We support no less the United States initiative to promote an effective and meaningful reform of the United Nations. Comprehensive reform of the Security Council is long overdue, and we hope that this session will herald new momentum in the intergovernmental negotiations on the blueprint for the Security Council reform.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“On behalf of Ukraine, I sincerely congratulate Mr. Miroslav Lajčák on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-second session. Ukraine fully supports all six priorities for the upcoming session defined by him and is ready to assist him in his noble efforts. A lot must be done to translate our common vision of a peaceful, prosperous and equal world into reality. The spiral of violence continues to affect more and more countries and regions. Transnational terrorism, the use of force in international relations, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the refugee crisis, poverty, human rights violations and environmental fragility are only some of the challenges we face. The scope of the threats demands our joint and resolute response.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Churchill’s vision of the United Nations as a vital sinew of peace and an essential policy foundation for international relations that must confront the two giant marauders, war and tyranny, acquires a new reading for our times. He called for us to “adhere faithfully to the Charter of the United Nations and walk forward in sedate and sober strength seeking no one’s land or treasure, seeking to lay no arbitrary control upon the thoughts of men”. I hope that approach will continue to be a powerful guide for all of us. Moreover, it is the only possible way to preserve our unique Organization and save the world from a new global catastrophe.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“My Government is committed to protecting its IDPs and has taken important measures to strengthen its national response mechanisms, paying special attention to ensuring that IDPs have the means to live, as well as improving their access to health care, education, housing and employment. Seventy years ago, Winston Churchill, one of the founding fathers of the United Nations, said at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri: “Our difficulties and dangers will not be removed by closing our eyes to them. They will not be removed by mere waiting to see what happens; nor will they be removed by a policy of appeasement.” Those words have not lost their relevance today.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“It seems hard to imagine, but today there are roughly 65 million forcibly displaced persons around the world, including more than 21 million refugees, 3 million asylum-seekers and 41 million internally displaced persons. Unfortunately, those IDPs include some 1.8 million of my compatriots who have fled the Donbas region, which has been occupied and devastated by Russia. Unquestionably, our main responsibility is saving our people’s lives and protecting those in need. However, to come up with a comprehensive response to that global challenge, we must address its root causes. They include, first and foremost, armed conflict, terrorism, sectarianism and poverty. The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, which the Assembly just adopted as resolution 71/1, is a first step in that direction.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We completed the ratification procedures for the Paris Agreement in a very short time and deposited our ratification instrument during today’s high-level event. This year, we also reached an important milestone, the completion of the United Nations Action Plan on Chernobyl, as well as the end of the Decade of Recovery and Sustainable Development of the Affected Regions. However, there is a clear need for continued international efforts to mitigate the impact of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and complete the various projects. I am pleased to note that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development addresses migration, currently one of the world’s biggest problems. In recent years, we have witnessed unprecedented mass movements of refugees, asylum-seekers, migrants and internally displaced persons (IDPs).”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)