YouSaid · the spoken record

Sergiy Kyslytsya

lines on the record: 79
first: 2020-04-27
most recent: 2021-04-30
sittings or episodes: 7
sources: un-security-council

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

“As a party to core international instruments related to the protection of civilians, Ukraine is committed to constantly promoting and supporting all efforts aimed at strengthening their implementation and advocating respect for human rights and international humanitarian law at both the bilateral and the multilateral levels.”
2021-04-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/415 (2021) · source
“In addition, Russia continues to block the proper and unhindered access of international monitoring missions, primarily those of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to the occupied territories. The dangerous trend of Russia’s abdication of its legal obligations has to be duly reflected and assessed in the Secretary-General’s next thematic report on the protection of civilians. Ukraine pays special attention to issues related to compliance with international humanitarian law and human rights in armed conflicts, as well as to those of preventing and responding to forced displacement and of protecting women, children and all vulnerable persons affected by armed conflict.”
2021-04-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/415 (2021) · source
“In the context of the spread of COVID-19, the state of protection of the life and health of civilians in the temporarily occupied territories has become ever more alarming and needs the special attention of the international community. As a party to the conflict, Russia persists in disregarding its duty, as an occupying Power under international humanitarian law, to ensure and maintain the public health of the population and uses the recent aggravation of the humanitarian situation as a smokescreen for further attacks on the rights and freedoms of the residents of Crimea. The spread of the pandemic did not stop the Russian authorities from announcing another conscription into the occupying army of the Russian Federation, which constitutes a war crime.”
2021-04-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/415 (2021) · source
“The flooding may have resulted in the acidification and mobilization of heavy metals into the local groundwater and riverine environment, with potentially significant impacts on human health and wildlife. Some of the flooded mines were earlier used as waste-storage facilities. It is a matter of particular concern that there is a danger of flooding at the site of an underground nuclear test, carried out in 1979 by the Soviet regime in the Yunkom coal mine near the occupied city of Yenakiyeve. This presents a real risk of radioactive contamination spreading to groundwater, rivers and, ultimately, to the Sea of Azov.”
2021-04-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/415 (2021) · source
“Furthermore, the harassment by the Russian Federation of commercial vessels passing under the illegally constructed Kerch Strait bridge between Russia and temporarily occupied Crimea and its restriction of international shipping there, with the most recent illegal closure of a part of the Black Sea leading to the Strait, have further aggravated the security, economic and social situations. More than 80 per cent of the enterprises and critical public infrastructure damaged in Donbas belong in the “dangerous” or “very dangerous” categories of environmental risk. Due to discontinued power supply, destroyed infrastructure, disabled pumping equipment and other causes, 39 of the region’s mines have been flooded.”
2021-04-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/415 (2021) · source
“The armed conflict continues to affect the enjoyment of economic and social rights by the civilian population, especially by more than 5 million residents of the conflict-affected areas and internally displaced persons. To date, Ukraine has experienced the devastating consequences of damage or destruction due to the shelling of civilian infrastructure by the Russian occupation forces, as well as the use of civilian facilities for military purposes. The dire humanitarian situation in the conflict-affected areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions continues to deteriorate.”
2021-04-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/415 (2021) · source
“This is one of the main preconditions to achieving a sustainable settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. For more than seven years, the Russian aggression has continued to take the lives of civilians and to destroy critical infrastructure in my country. This international armed conflict has turned the subject of the protection of civilians and objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, from an academic topic into a very practical and daily issue for my country.”
2021-04-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/415 (2021) · source
“There is still an urgent need to change our approach to the issue of accountability and to strengthen collective responsibility to prevent, stop and ensure the non- repetition of attacks against civilians in conflict situations. Unfortunately, this task remains unimplemented, despite its enduring relevance. Ukraine has become a prime example of the consequences of violations, by one of the permanent members of the Security Council, of norms and principles of international law, including international humanitarian law. As a result, each year since 2014 has recorded unprecedented numbers of losses among civilians caused by the Russian aggression against my country. Accountability for each loss of life should be established.”
2021-04-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/415 (2021) · source
“The international community should ensure the full protection of objects that are vital to the survival of civilians, including in the context of emerging challenges related to new technologies and weaponry, climate change and the environmental consequences of armed conflicts. Ukraine welcomes the Secretary-General’s report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict (S/2020/366), as well as his timely initiatives aimed at mitigating the security consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The call for an immediate global ceasefire — which Ukraine, whose population suffers from ongoing foreign armed aggression, immediately supported — is directly linked to today’s discussion.”
2021-04-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/415 (2021) · source
“I would like to express my appreciation to the presidency of Viet Nam for convening this important debate on the current state of and challenges to the protection of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population in armed conflict, including the implications of the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. I am proud to recall that, back in 2017, Ukraine, as an elected member of the Security Council, initiated the Council’s first-ever resolution on the protection of critical infrastructure (resolution 2341 (2017)), which is closely linked to today’s discussion. This debate is a timely one, since armed conflicts continue to pose a wide range of threats to civilian populations in urban and rural areas.”
2021-04-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/415 (2021) · source
“Another Government priority is the reintegration of veteran women, as they face difficulties when they return to civilian life, including difficulties in finding employment, obtaining free medical services and overcoming stereotypes commonly held by the public. The Government of Ukraine has enhanced its efforts aimed at ensuring gender equality and women’s empowerment in all spheres of public life, as well as necessary support and reintegration for women victims of sexual violence as the result of the ongoing foreign aggression. Ukraine will continue its efforts aimed at promoting awareness of the women and peace and security agenda and strengthening its implementation within the United Nations, in particular to advance women’s rights and protect them from sexual and gender-based violence.”
2021-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/375 (2021) · source
“Furthermore, the second national action plan focuses on achieving greater participation of women in decision-making, in particular in national security and defence, peacebuilding and so on. I would like to highlight the fact that women constitute 23.6 per cent of Ukraine’s armed forces. This number has increased over 15-fold since 2008, from 1,800 to 29,760, of whom 900 are senior officers. Among these numbers, 15.2 per cent are military personnel, and 8.4 per cent are civilians. Of the personnel defending Ukraine against Russia’s aggression, over 10 per cent are women. Woman volunteers provide tangible support at the front line.”
2021-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/375 (2021) · source
“However, notwithstanding the ongoing external aggression it was facing, Ukraine adopted, on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), on women and peace and security, its second national action plan to implement this resolution, which emphasizes the important role of women in peacebuilding and conflict resolution. The new action plan was developed according to a results-oriented management methodology. The second action plan provides for the broad participation of various groups of women in its implementation, including those that were not included in the first action plan, namely, veterans, family members of the dead or missing, and women in volunteer organizations.”
2021-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/375 (2021) · source
“As reported by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on numerous occasions, the prison known as Izolyatsia in Donetsk stands as an emblematic example of crimes being committed against detainees in the occupied areas, including acts of sexual violence. As a party to the conflict, Russia continues to destabilize Ukraine, especially through actions in occupied areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, disregarding the commitments it had made under the Minsk agreements.”
2021-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/375 (2021) · source
“For Ukraine, the issue of promoting the women and peace and security agenda has taken on new importance since 2014, which marked the beginning of an armed aggression of the Russian Federation against our country. We have faced seven years of suffering and fighting for the protection of human rights and for prevention of all forms of violations and discrimination. Russia’s armed aggression turned Ukraine into the country with the world’s ninth largest number of internally displaced persons: some 1.5 million people, 60 per cent of whom are women. Protected populations in the occupied territories face intimidation, detention and ill treatment, as well as physical and sexual violence. The occupied territories have become home for discriminative practices and gender inequality.”
2021-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/375 (2021) · source
“The report before us, which focuses on only 18 countries, reveals the difficulties stemming from the underreporting of incidents as a result of intimidation and stigmatization of survivors and of limited capacities of the United Nations staff. We expect that future reports of the Secretary-General on the topic will be more comprehensive and reflect situations in major conflict-affected zones and occupied territories. In this regard, we fully support the Secretary-General’s recommendation to continue to incorporate sexual violence as a stand-alone designation criterion for sanctions, including when used as a tool of reprisal against women in public and political life.”
2021-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/375 (2021) · source
“It must therefore be a matter of our concern and immediate response. We call on the Secretary-General to preserve the issue of investigations and prosecutions of all these violations as a priority matter. Ukraine is ready to actively participate in collective efforts aimed at ensuring that victims and survivors can access the comprehensive support they need to fully recover from these violations and be able to reintegrate into their societies. Such collective efforts should address the specific needs, perspectives and wishes of the most vulnerable victims and survivors and those living with disabilities.”
2021-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/375 (2021) · source
“It is therefore significant that the Secretary-General highlighted in his recent report that “COVID-19 gave rise to new, gender-specific protection concerns linked with: militarization, as well as checkpoint and border closures, which restricted the operating space for women’s organizations; sexual harassment of women health-care workers and women in isolation and treatment centres; and sexual violence against women detained for alleged curfew violations” (S/2021/312, para. 3). We are deeply convinced that such forms of sexual violence as rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, forced marriage, enforced sterilization or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity perpetrated against women, girls, men or boys are directly or indirectly linked to a conflict.”
2021-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/375 (2021) · source
“Last year, we commemorated the most important documentary milestones in the history of the women and peace and security agenda, namely, the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security, and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, whose significance we cannot underestimate. Unfortunately, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has brought additional challenges to the global security environment and only worsened the situation by adding to existing international problems.”
2021-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/375 (2021) · source
“Ukraine aligns itself with the statements made on behalf of the European Union (annex 37) and of the Group of Friends of Women, Peace and Security (annex 28), respectively. Let me express my appreciation to the Vietnamese presidency of the Security Council for convening today’s open debate on sexual violence in conflict. I also want to thank the Secretary-General for preparing the report on conflict-related sexual violence (S/2021/312), which covers the period from January to December 2020. At the outset, I would like to reaffirm Ukraine’s commitment to the zero- tolerance policy with regard to all forms of sexual violence. We stand in solidarity with victims and survivors of such crimes.”
2021-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/375 (2021) · source
“On behalf of my country, I would like to confirm Ukraine’s irrevocable commitment to promoting these values and assure the OIF Secretary- General that she can always count on Ukraine in this regard. In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that the role of regional organizations depends on close cooperation with the United Nations — a cooperation that will make the world more peaceful and sustainable, more resistant to conflicts and pandemics, and more open and united.”
2020-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/893 (2020) · source
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the OIF, and in particular its Secretary-General, for supporting the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Ukraine, upholding a policy of condemning Russia’s attempt to annex the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and of refusing to recognize the legitimacy of this annexation. This OIF policy is fully in line with the purposes and principles set forth in the Charter of the United Nations and its own Charter. The OIF Secretary-General should know that we in Ukraine appreciate it very much. The success of OIF action in favour of peace and democracy depends above all on our solidarity.”
2020-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/893 (2020) · source
“The events currently provoked by the Russian occupation of the Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and certain regions of Donbas clearly demonstrate that the violation of the fundamental principles of international law by a permanent member of the Security Council constitutes a serious threat to peace and security in Europe and the world as a whole. I would like to draw the Council’s attention to the fact that the Russian-Ukrainian war has been described by the United Nations as one of the deadliest in Europe since the Second World War.”
2020-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/893 (2020) · source
“Since the founding of the United Nations, the fundamental norms of its Charter have been violated on numerous occasions. Any infringement of the provisions of the United Nations Charter, any arbitrary or selective interpretation of its Articles, any measure likely to impair the Organization’s authority or incite a breach of the letter and spirit of the principles enshrined in the Charter clearly constitutes a threat to international peace, with grave consequences for the well-being of all peoples.”
2020-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/893 (2020) · source
“We are convinced that the activities of la Francophonie through diplomatic channels and direct contacts, such as what we are doing today, contribute significantly to the promotion of the principles of democracy and the strengthening of the rule of law, peace and security. Cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations is highly indispensable in promoting the purposes and principles of the United Nations. The OIF’s action has also become an important framework for multilateral cooperation. According to its Charter, the OIF’s objectives include assisting in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts, and the promotion of the rule of law and human rights. These objectives are the Security Council’s principal areas of interest.”
2020-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/893 (2020) · source
“The OIF represents more than a third of the members of the General Assembly and promotes multilateral cooperation in areas of common interest. As an observer country of the OIF, Ukraine fully shares in the organization’s activities aimed at meeting global challenges, ensuring sustainable development and defending democracy and human rights in the world. We fully support the OIF’s activities to promote the French language, to ensure peace, democracy and solidarity and to face the coronavirus disease pandemic, which is at the heart of the concerns of millions of people around the world today. We encourage the OIF to continue to strive to protect human rights and ensure gender equality, empower women, girls and young people, and support their more active participation in the life of society, because they are our future.”
2020-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/893 (2020) · source
“First of all, I would like to join previous speakers in thanking the Niger for organizing today’s open debate. I would also like to thank the Secretary-General of the International Organization of la Francophonie (OIF), Ms. Louise Mushikiwabo, for her briefing on cooperation between the OIF and the United Nations. I would also like to thank the Assistant Secretary-General Bintou Keita, and the representatives of civil society who are virtually with us today, for their ideas and recommendations. This is a very special year for the OIF, as it marks the fiftieth anniversary of its creation. Over these 50 years, the OIF has grown considerably — from 21 to 88 full member States, associate members and observers — and with a presence on the five continents.”
2020-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/893 (2020) · source
“In the light of that I have mentioned, I must once again reiterate our regret at the omission of a reference to the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict and its victims in the Secretary-General’s latest thematic report. In conclusion, I would like to report that, in May, Ukraine joined the Group of Friends of Women, Peace and Security and will continue its efforts aimed at promoting awareness of the women and peace and security agenda and strengthening its implementation within the United Nations, in particular advancing women’s rights and protecting them from sexual and gender-based violence.”
2020-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/727 (2020) · source
“The active integration of gender equality into the activities of the armed forces of Ukraine fostered changes to the list of military specialties and positions open to women candidates. Currently, the Government of Ukraine, in cooperation with international and non-governmental organizations, is developing a new national action plan for the period 2021-2025, which is expected to be adopted by the end of this year. The Government of Ukraine has enhanced its efforts to ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment in all spheres of public life, as well as the necessary support for, and reintegration of, women victims who have suffered sexual violence as the result of the ongoing foreign aggression.”
2020-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/727 (2020) · source
“The national action plan is aimed, inter alia, at achieving the greater participation of women in decision-making, in particular in the areas of national security and defence and peacemaking, and at ensuring the protection of all victims of violence, including the prevention of and response to conflicts and gender-based violence. The plan also includes a recommendation on the national strategy for the prevention and response to the conflict-related sexual violence in Ukraine, in particular relating to education and training programmes for the security sector on aspects of prevention, protection and response, along with psychological assistance and rehabilitation programmes for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, as well as an information campaign on the prevention of sexual violence.”
2020-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/727 (2020) · source
“Nonetheless, the path towards the prevention of all forms of gender-based violence lies in the genuine empowerment of women, ensuring gender equality in all spheres of life. Ukraine attaches great importance to the equal and full participation of women in all activities in areas of national security, conflict prevention and resolution, peacebuilding and peacekeeping. With the aim of implementing the women and peace and security agenda at the national level, Ukraine, while facing foreign military aggression, was among the first countries to adopt a comprehensive national action plan for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) for 2016-2020.”
2020-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/727 (2020) · source
“It is therefore imperative that the international community, and the Security Council in particular, continue to look for the most effective ways to enhance the implementation of the existing resolutions on the women and peace and security agenda in order to tackle and to prevent atrocities from being committed. In that light, Ukraine, as the country that pioneered the issue of prevention and initiated the relevant process in the Human Rights Council, fully supports the Secretary-General’s recommendations regarding the strengthening of prevention efforts by demanding that all State and non-State actors make formal commitments to including the prevention of conflict-related sexual violence in security sector reform.”
2020-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/727 (2020) · source
“Nevertheless, the list of perpetrators presented in the annex to the report of the Secretary-General has remained almost unchanged for years. This is a result of poor compliance with relevant obligations and commitments not only by non-State actors, but also by States. We cannot tolerate such behaviour and should send a clear message to those who commit these grave violations under international law that statements about the inevitability of accountability and justice will not remain merely solemn declarations, but will be translated into concrete, immediate actions. Perpetrators of sexual violence must, regardless of their affiliation or rank, be held to account.”
2020-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/727 (2020) · source
“At the same time, it is imperative to follow up on General Assembly resolutions that include provisions directly dedicated to the situation of human rights in conflicts and in the occupied territories. We expect that future Secretary-General reports on the topic will be more comprehensive and reflect situations in major conflict-affected zones. In this connection, we fully support the Secretary-General’s recommendation to continue to include sexual violence as a stand-alone designation criterion for sanctions and targeted measures. Since the establishment of the mandate of the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, more than 10 years ago, the Security Council has adopted a number of resolutions focused, first and foremost, on the prevention of conflict-related sexual violence.”
2020-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/727 (2020) · source
“The reality of sexual violence against women and men and girls and boys continues to constitute a part of each and every armed conflict around the globe. Sexual violence has become a part of warfare tactics, torture, terrorism, interrogations, repressions and even control of some territories. We are particularly concerned that sexual violence and related human trafficking could be used by terrorist groups to generate revenue and lead to abductions of human beings, especially women and girls, for sale. The report (S/2020/487) before us clearly indicates that focusing on 19 countries only points out the difficulties related to the underreporting of incidents resulting from the intimidation and stigmatization of survivors, as well as the limited capacities of United Nations staff.”
2020-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/727 (2020) · source
“This year provides a fitting opportunity to assess the effectiveness of two decades of the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), on women and peace and security, and to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. As an elected member of the Security Council, Ukraine co-sponsored the landmark resolution 1325 (2000) in 2000, reaffirming the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and post-conflict reconstruction. Unfortunately, in recent years the global security environment has only worsened, and this year it was further undermined by the coronavirus disease pandemic. After years of joint efforts, the international community has not tackled the main drivers of this violence.”
2020-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/727 (2020) · source
“Let me express my appreciation to the German presidency for holding this open debate on women and peace and security, focused on sexual violence in conflict. I would also like to thank Secretary-General António Guterres, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten and the representatives of civil society for their presentations. Ukraine reiterates its full support for the mandate and work of the United Nations Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict. We reaffirm our commitment to the zero-tolerance policy regarding all forms of sexual violence and stand in solidarity with victims and survivors of such crimes. It is worth mentioning that Ukraine aligns itself with the statement of the European Union (see annex 25).”
2020-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/727 (2020) · source
“The Council has no right to repeat its failures in Rwanda, to continue to fail in Syria or to remain impotent on Russian aggression against Ukraine. The time has come to restore the integrity of the entire United Nations system and to bridge the gap between New York and Geneva as regards the human rights dimension of international peace and security.”
2020-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/674 (2020) · source
“A piecemeal approach to an issue of such fundamental importance for maintaining peace and security can no longer be applied. It is high time to take a fresh look at the role and place of human rights in the work of the Council. The proper consideration of human rights violations in the context of the maintenance of peace and security could contribute considerably to preventing the outbreak of armed conflict. If a conflict is already raging, addressing its human rights dimension may prevent further escalation of violence and serve as a deterrent to conflict-related atrocities. That is why the human rights component should be an integral part of the Council’s activity in the area of conflict resolution and management.”
2020-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/674 (2020) · source
“Ukraine has consistently promoted the role of prevention in ensuring and protecting human rights, both as a member of the Security Council in 2016-2017 and as a current member of the Human Rights Council. We have always stressed the need to strengthen the innate connection between the protection of human rights and the maintenance of peace and security. The crucial implications of human rights violations for peace and security should be recognized, and it would be only natural for the Security Council to take the lead on this matter. I would like to underline that holding discussions in the Council on the human rights dimension of peace and security so infrequently and sporadically and without a dedicated agenda item does little to boost the Council’s ability to fully implement its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations.”
2020-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/674 (2020) · source
“187 of 29 April 2019, aimed at simplifying the process of acquiring Russian citizenship for nationals of Ukraine living in Crimea or Donbas. It is yet further proof of the identical nature of Russia’s aggressive strategy in Crimea and Donbas. It should be a wake-up call to those who still try to distinguish between Russia’s occupation of Crimea and its actions in Donbas, which absolutely represent a continuation of the international armed conflict that Russia started on 20 February 2014. That is why we need concrete, robust actions to compel the Russian Federation to uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law in both Crimea and Donbas.”
2020-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/674 (2020) · source
“The failure of the Russian Federation as an occupying Power in Crimea is documented in detail in the recent report (A/HRC/44/21) of the Secretary-General entitled “Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine”, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 74/168. The report confirms Russia’s continued disregard of its obligations as occupying power under international humanitarian law, as well as the deteriorating human rights situation in occupied Crimea, including widespread abductions, enforced disappearances, torture, politically motivated persecution on ethnic and religious grounds and racial discrimination. Let me also note the Secretary-General’s reference to the Russian President’s Decree No.”
2020-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/674 (2020) · source
“In its resolutions “Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine)”, the General Assembly reaffirmed that Crimean residents should enjoy protection under the Geneva Conventions and applicable human rights instruments. Numerous testimonies of the crimes committed during the Russian aggression against Ukraine can be found in reports of the United Nations human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, which has been operating in my country at the invitation of the Ukrainian Government in an effort to prevent massive human rights violations by the occupying Power.”
2020-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/674 (2020) · source
“Early warning signs of an imminent conflict were very clear already back in 2011. Immense human suffering, hundreds of thousands of dead, millions displaced and not even the hint of a light at the end of the tunnel. Action by the Security Council on the matter has been blocked by what is now 14 vetoes on the part of the newest non-elected member of the Council — the Russian Federation, which aims not only to revive Stalin’s methods but also to reach the veto anti-record of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. More than six years have passed since Russia illegally occupied Crimea. The occupying Power commits massive systematic violations of human rights and seeks to destroy the identity of Ukrainians and the indigenous people of the peninsula — the Crimean Tatars — as well as other ethnic and religious groups.”
2020-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/674 (2020) · source
“Ukraine is proud to be among the first States to endorse the Declaration and notes with satisfaction the growing number of Member States that share the values and purposes of the document. At the same time, there are still drawbacks in the Council’s work on human rights. Since the outbreak of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, which was utterly overlooked, the attitude in the Council to human rights as a core component of conflict prevention regrettably has not changed much. The Council still does not address human rights violations as early signs of impending tragedies. The whole world has been observing for almost a decade the severe consequences of the crisis in Syria and the gross human rights violations committed by various parties, primarily the Syrian regime and its allies.”
2020-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/674 (2020) · source
“As an active contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations, Ukraine strongly supports further development of the human rights component in United Nations peacekeeping operations. It is particularly essential for enhancing the protection of the most vulnerable in conflicts — children and women. As rightly outlined in the concept note for today’s meeting, peacekeeping operations may engage in casualty reporting, capacity-building programmes and public reporting on human rights violations and abuses. In that regard, it is highly commendable that human rights became an indispensable part of the Action for Peacekeeping Declaration of Shared Commitments on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations.”
2020-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/674 (2020) · source
“Human rights violations are not only a grave consequence of conflicts but, frequently, the very reason that conflicts start in the first place. In the past, we have seen instances when the Security Council was able to establish that link, referring to the danger of the eruption of conflicts and violations of human rights. In the 1990s, the Security Council, after reports on human rights violations in the former Yugoslavia, established the first peacekeeping operation in United Nations history with a mandate for the protection of civilians. As of today, more than half of the current peace missions created or authorized by the Security Council have human rights tasks in their mandates and include substantive human rights capacities or components.”
2020-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/674 (2020) · source
“Today’s meeting therefore has a fitting subject for discussion for the Council given the state of today’s world, full of numerous ongoing conflicts. It is also important to give more attention to the topic at a time when the coronavirus disease pandemic has aggravated each and every aspect of international peace and security, including in the human rights dimension. Only several days ago, we marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Charter of the United Nations, which established the United Nations system based on the fundamental pillars of peace and security, human rights and development. But, in a globalized world, it is evident that sustainable peace and security cannot be achieved in isolation from human rights.”
2020-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/674 (2020) · source
“We commend Germany for convening this open debate to consider the issue of human rights in peacekeeping operations. We concur with the statement contained in the President’s concept note that: “As the world continues to witness armed conflicts and human rights violations, stressing the universality of human rights and including them in discussions about international peace and security is more critical than ever.” (S/2020/604, annex, para. 2) During the previous formal debate of the Security Council on human rights three years ago (see S/PV.7918), their interlinkages with armed conflicts were clearly asserted. It was also reaffirmed at the Arria Formula meeting held on 17 April 2019 at the initiative of Kuwait, Côte d’Ivoire and Peru.”
2020-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/674 (2020) · source
“To conclude, I would like to quote Judge and former President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals Theodor Meron, who, in his essay “Closing the Accountability Gap: Concrete Steps Toward Ending Impunity for Atrocity Crimes”, wrote that, “ensuring accountability for atrocity crimes should not be seen as a mere political option: one choice among many facing national authorities and diplomats. It should be understood as a political, legal, and fundamentally human and humanitarian imperative”.”
2020-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/465 (2020) · source