UNSC Briefing on Threats to International Peace and Security of Ukraine
UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFING ON THREATS TO INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY – PROSPECTS FOR THE PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF THE CRISES IN THE CONTEXT OF INCREASING SUPPLIES OF WESTERN ARMAMENTS
Madam President,
I wish to thank Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Madam Izumi Nakamitsu for her briefing. I also thank the civil society briefer, Mr. Roger Waters for the views he has expressed on the matter. At the outset, I wish to reaffirm the right of Ukraine to self-defense and in that respect, to taking all necessary measures within the limits of international law to protect its people and territory from the aggressive acts of the Russian Federation. After a year of intense fighting, marked by suffering, death and destruction, the war in Ukraine now points in the direction of an intractable conflict with no end in sight.
The Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, in his statement to the General Assembly on his priorities for 2023, echoed our fears of “a wider war” with devastating impacts for Ukraine and the rest of us who, have not been spared from the consequences of the war on the international finance, energy and food systems. We are deeply concerned by the threatening possibilities of accidental or miscalculated actions with catastrophic outcomes as the warring sides mobilize massive military and other strategic resources in anticipation of an escalated warfare in the coming days. It is
for us, alarming and unfortunate that projections of a military win seem to be gaining momentum over our collectively-held values for the peaceful settlement of conflicts.
It is worth reminding ourselves however, that, many past and present conflicts in various parts of the world have shown little or no chance of establishing peace through military action. Indeed, the United Nations was founded on that very realization and the need to ensure the pacific settlement of disputes that are bound to occur as long as competing interests prevail among states. It is in this wisdom that the Charter of the United Nations expressly prohibits the use of force among states and offers a wide range of diplomatic tools to aid the peaceful resolution of disputes.
We believe that a negotiated settlement would guarantee a comprehensive, durable and just peace between the Russian Federation and its neighbour Ukraine. We, therefore, urge the intensification of peace efforts by the Security Council and also through the good offices of the Secretary-General to help facilitate dialogue between the parties, their allies and other relevant actors.
Madam President,
It is time for a pause by the parties and the wider international community to critically assess the immediate and long-term implications of the war and what that means for promoting and maintaining international peace and security. For the international community, especially, developing economies, the earlier this war is ended, the better the chances of recovery for ailing global economic systems on which we are collectively dependent.
We encourage all actors to keep in focus the humanitarian cost of the war and the compelling need to safeguard and preserve innocent lives from harm. We wish to reiterate our call on the warring sides to refrain from further missile attacks against residential facilities as well as the destruction of critical energy infrastructure as we have witnessed in recent weeks. We call for the de-escalation of tensions and level-headedness as we approach the one-year mark of this unjustifiable war.
While remaining supportive of international peace efforts, we must emphasize the moral and legal obligations of the Russian Federation as the protagonist of the war to bring an end to all its operations in Ukraine with the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of its forces from the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine. Until then, we fear that, the prospects of a peaceful settlement may continue to remain out of reach.
I thank you for your kind attention.