As the United Nations’ disarmament chief urged just and lasting peace in Ukraine before the Security Council today, its members – meeting again, at the Russian Federation’s behest, on Western arms deliveries to that country – alternately reiterated Kyiv’s right to defend itself, pointed to Moscow’s procurement of arms from third States and called for dialogue ahead of a peace summit that will occur in Switzerland on 15-16 June.
“I reiterate that any transfer of weapons and ammunition must take place consistently with the applicable international legal framework – including, of course, relevant Security Council resolutions,” emphasized Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. Addressing the risk of diversion is also essential, she said, which requires supply-chain transparency as well as cooperation and information exchange between importing, transit and exporting States. Detailing other concrete counter-diversion measures, she also expressed concern over Ukraine’s widespread contamination with explosive remnants of war.
The Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion – launched in violation of international law – “continues to inflict a terrible toll on the people of Ukraine”, she stressed, reporting that 11,126 civilians have been killed, alongside 21,863 injured, since the war began. The actual figures are likely to be considerably higher. “Such human suffering cannot continue,” she underscored, adding: “As I have repeatedly stated, we need a just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the UN Charter, international law and relevant General Assembly resolutions.”
(Note: Due to the financial liquidity crisis affecting the United Nations and the resulting constraints, the full press release will be published at a later date.)
THREATS TO INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY
Briefings
IZUMI NAKAMITSU, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, reported that the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion — launched in violation of international law — “continues to inflict a terrible toll on the people of Ukraine”. Moscow’s intensified offensives in Kharkiv and other parts of the country have resulted in high numbers of civilian casualties and massive destruction of civilian objects and infrastructure. There have also been reports of an increasing number of strikes inside the Russian Federation resulting in civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure. Expressing concern over continued, intensified attacks affecting civilian populations and infrastructure, she underscored that deliberate, direct attacks against such targets — as well as indiscriminate, disproportionate attacks — are prohibited under international humanitarian law and “must cease immediately”. Further, the use of explosive weapons in populated areas must be avoided, and she urged, ultimately, “taking combat out of urban areas altogether”.
Noting that the provision of military assistance and transfers of arms and ammunition to the Ukrainian Armed Forces have continued, she said that information from Governments regarding such transfers is accessible through open sources. There have also been reports of States transferring — or planning to transfer — weapons and ammunition to the Russian Federation Armed Forces, and that these weapons have been used in Ukraine. “I reiterate that any transfer of weapons and ammunition must take place consistently with the applicable international legal framework — including, of course, relevant Security Council resolutions,” she said. She also expressed concern over reports related to the use of cluster munitions and to Ukraine’s widespread contamination with mines and explosive remnants of war, pointing out that — even after the fighting ends — “these deadly devices can contaminate communities for decades to come, posing a daily and deadly danger to women, men and children and hampering reconstruction efforts”.
Against that backdrop, she underlined the need for full participation in, and implementation of, international conventions governing anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions and certain conventional weapons. Further, addressing the risk of diversion is “essential for preventing further instability and insecurity in Ukraine, the region and beyond”, she stressed. This requires supply-chain transparency, as well as cooperation and information exchange between importing, transit and exporting States. Concrete counter-diversion measures, meanwhile, include enhanced marking, record-keeping and tracing practices; comprehensive pre-transfer diversion risk assessments; end-user certificates that include non-transfer clauses; post-shipment verifications; and diversion monitoring and analysis. Effective physical security and stockpile management, as well as customs and border-control measures, are also key.
Stating that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has verified that the ongoing war in Ukraine has killed 11,126 civilians and injured 21,863 others — and that “the actual figures are likely to be considerably higher” — she expressed concern that the number of civilian casualties in May 2024 was the highest since June 2023. “Such human suffering cannot continue,” she underscored, calling on States to avoid taking any actions that could lead to further escalation and possible miscalculation. She added: “As I have repeatedly stated, we need a just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the UN Charter, international law and relevant General Assembly resolutions.”
DANIEL KOVALIK, peace activist, said “the US is presenting Russia with a ‘reverse Cuban missile crisis’”, noting that Ukraine has been utilizing United States drones to attack radar stations deep inside in the Russian Federation which are designed to defend that country against potential nuclear attack from the United States. The Russian Federation could view the attacks upon its radar stations as an attempt to pave the way for a nuclear first strike, he said, asking: “Could one imagine how the US would have reacted in 1962, or today, if Cuba used Russian weapons to attack similar US radar stations deep within the United States?” Recalling how then United States President John F. Kennedy worked behind the scenes to negotiate an end to the Cuban missile crisis even while he took an aggressive position publicly, he said the current crisis is much more concerning “given that the US does not have a leader of JFK’s calibre at the helm”.
Indeed, he added, the current President is actually going out of his way to try to bring about a third World War, he said, noting that the Biden Administration has announced that it will be officially supplying arms to Ukraine’s Azov Battalion, an avowed neo-Nazi military organization. Outlining this group’s recruitment activities, he said it has established youth camps and education programmes, including some that teach children as young as nine military tactics. Stressing that support for this Nazi organization must be viewed as a threat to peace and security in all of Europe, and as a special threat to the Russian Federation, he called on the Council to do something to stop this “abomination”.
Statements
The representative of the Russian Federation warned that “the situation surrounding Ukraine is developing based on an increasingly dangerous scenario”. Western States have decided to achieve another uptick in escalation, which risks catastrophic consequences. In this context, he echoed the words of the German Minister of Defence, who said: “We must not believe that Putin will stop at Ukraine’s borders — when he gets that far, we should be ready for war with Russia by 2029. We will need young women and men who can defend our country.” Along similar lines, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s Secretary General recently asserted that “the right to self-defence includes striking at legitimate targets outside Ukraine”, noting that “this does not constitute escalation”. Western States have been pumping Ukraine full of weapons for two years, using any means to keep the crisis in an active phase; Washington, D.C.’s elites even state that the proxy war on Ukrainian territory is “the cheapest possible way to exert pressure on Russia”.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, Western instructors and mercenaries have been partaking in it, he continued, adding that Western servicemen are micro-managing the regime’s use of cutting-edge, high-precision, long-range weapons. They are also determining the targets of these strikes, he observed, adding that “everyone complicit will be punished”. Western leaders — while dreaming about vanquishing the Russian Federation on the battlefield — completely misunderstood the scale of the threat that they are creating. “Do you understand that your leadership is pushing Europe to the brink of a new great war?” he asked. Detailing Ukraine’s attacks on Russian civilian targets, he said that, on 7 June, using United States weapons in Lugansk, the stairwell of a residential building collapsed, killing 6 and injuring 60.
“We are ready to discuss how we can achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine and Europe based on the reality on the ground and given our security interests,” he asserted, outlining President Vladimir Putin’s specific proposal for peace. It includes a neutral non-bloc status for Ukraine without nuclear weapons, nuclear demilitarization and denazification, full respect for rights and freedoms of Russian-speaking citizens in Ukraine, the recognition of the territorial reality on the ground — that is, the status of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as constituent entities of the Russian Federation. He also underscored that all Western sanctions against his country should be lifted.
The representative of the United Kingdom, stating that his colleague from the Russian Federation called today’s debate to obscure a simple truth, said: “The situation we face today has one sole cause — [Russian Federation] President [Vladimir V.] Putin’s illegal and unprovoked invasion.” Underscoring that “the problem is the presence of Russian weapons in Ukraine, not the reverse”, he pointed out that much of Moscow’s campaign is planned and delivered from Russian Federation territory. Glide bombs hitting Ukrainian cities and missiles hitting power stations are launched from aircraft inside Russian Federation airspace, and Moscow is mustering, equipping and commanding forces for the Kharkiv offensive from inside its borders. Ukraine has “every right to defend itself from these attacks”, he said, emphasizing that striking military targets actively threatening its territory, infrastructure and civilian population “is not ‘escalatory’ — as Russia has claimed — but a reasonable step to protect itself”. He added: “Every country in a similar situation would do the same.”
The representative of Guyana, noting 28 months of near-daily bombardment of cities and towns and the killing of at least 11,000 civilians across Ukraine, said 14.6 million Ukrainians — about 40 per cent of the population — require some form of humanitarian assistance. With armed conflicts proliferating, Governments around the world are making unprecedented investments into soaring military budgets. Global military expenditure for 2023 reached $2.4 trillion, while the Ukraine Humanitarian Response Plan remains only 27.5 per cent funded, she pointed out. Highlighting the direct and indirect links between military expenditure and the reduction of resources for development, she called on the Russian Federation to withdraw its military forces from the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine. There is an urgent need to find a just and lasting peace through a political and diplomatic process, she said.
The representative of France noted that today marks the sixteenth time the Russian Federation has convened a meeting on Western arms deliveries to Ukraine. Faced with the disaster it has unleashed, it is attempting to reverse responsibility. Western weapons are not behind this war, he said, rather “the decision taken by Russia to launch […] the large-scale invasion of a State which posed no threat to it”. Also, Western weapons are not prolonging this conflict or weakening the international non-proliferation architecture. In this context, he recalled Moscow’s decision to obtain its arms and ammunition from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and armed drones from Iran. While Russian strikes intensify against Ukrainian territory — including its civilian populations and infrastructure — France will continue to provide that country with the military support pivotal to the protection of its air and land space, he asserted, adding that “helping Ukraine defend itself creates the conditions for a just and lasting peace”.
The representative of Sierra Leone expressed concern over attacks on the Russian Federation city of Belgorod and the use of highly destructive glide bombs dropped from planes on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and its surroundings. He expressed further concern over “the seeming authorization given by some countries, encouraging Ukraine to use weapons supplied by third parties to strike targets inside Russia”. While “recognizing the rights of nations to self-defence”, he underlined the need for all parties to exercise restraint and prioritize peaceful means for conflict resolution. In this context, he said that the Russian Federation should have been invited to attend the upcoming Ukraine peace summit, as it is “a key stakeholder in any peace process”. He also called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict that account for “the legitimate concerns of all parties involved”.
The representative of the United States, stressing that today’s meeting is a transparent attempt to distract the world from what is happening in Ukraine, added: “Russia is fooling no one.” Rejecting the assertion that it is Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself that are blocking peace, he said that after more than two years since the start of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion, “there are now more countries sitting around this table than have stood beside Russia in its illegal war of aggression.” The Russian Federation has been strengthening ties with the few countries willing to support it, he said, adding that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has unlawfully transferred dozens of ballistic missiles and thousands of containers of munitions to aid the war against Ukraine. That is a clear violation of Security Council resolutions, he said, adding that Iran and China are also supporting the Russian Federation’s war efforts. The United States will stand by Ukraine, he said, calling on all States to do the same.
The representative of Algeria underscored the need to abandon the logic of confrontation prevailing in the conflict in Ukraine and urged the parties to prioritize the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure and favour dialogue and genuine negotiation, taking into consideration their legitimate security concerns. Noting that “the situation on the ground is not evolving towards a peaceful settlement”, he expressed concern about the influx and use of increasingly lethal and destructive weapons and ammunition in conflict zones. Equally concerning is the risk of those weapons falling into the hands and control of criminal or terrorist groups, as it could cause widespread threats to peace and security. “Our focus should be on reaching a peaceful settlement that could garner the consensus of the parties involved in this conflict,” he stated, stressing that “only genuine and inclusive negotiations could bring us closer to ending this conflict and building sustainable peace.”
https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15732.doc.htm
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