Mr. President and distinguished members of the Council,
Today, I will briefly update the Council on developments related to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, as well as on my own recent visit to the country, from 15-17 December 2014, in continuation of the Secretary-General's good offices.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine
Let me begin by stating clearly our alarm: Following weeks of relative calm, the Council meets today amidst the worst hostilities in eastern Ukraine since the cease-fire and Minsk Protocol were agreed on 5 September. Encouraging signs of progress, such as the exchange of hundreds of prisoners, are quickly being overshadowed by renewed fighting and a deepening political stalemate. Ukraine, as well as its neighbours and the broader region, cannot afford the current, violent status quo. The escalation of fighting threatens to unravel the Minsk Protocols.
Ladies and gentlemen,
While the heavy fighting of the past few days was initially concentrated around Donetsk airport, the numbers of dead and injured, including innocent civilians, are quickly rising elsewhere as violence spreads throughout the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, including to heavily populated civilian areas such as Donetsk city. The conflict is also reportedly inching dangerously close to cities such as Mariupol and Debaltseve, and endangering areas that have been, until recently, relatively quiet.
As another sign of escalation, reinforcements of fighters are reported on both sides, with the deployment of more sophisticated and heavier weaponry.
Today in Davos, President Poroshenko stated that there were over 9,000 Russia regular troops in Ukraine, an accusation that Moscow refutes.
As a direct result of the renewal of fighting, on 13 January, 12 civilians lost their lives and seventeen were seriously wounded in Volnovakha when their bus was hit. The UN has no means of verifying the facts independently. After having visited the site three times and crater analysis, the OSCE Monitoring Mission concluded that “the rockets that caused Craters 1 and 2 had been fired from a north-north-eastern direction” and that “the rockets may have been fired approximately 20 kilometres from the point of impact. The SMM is not able to independently verify the point of origin of the rockets or to identify the entity that fired them.”
As the Secretary-General stated, this incident, which must be thoroughly investigated and those responsible brought to justice, is a stark reminder of the urgent need to halt the violence.
Mr. President and distinguished members of the Council,
Let me also say a few words on the humanitarian situation, which has deteriorated further as conflict has again intensified. A country which until a year ago had no displaced people now has at least 850,000 citizens displaced within its borders and over 600,000 in neighbouring states, according to Ukrainian sources.
Humanitarian actors must have access to do their life-saving work. All parties to the conflict have an obligation to guarantee free and unhindered humanitarian access to all people in need, irrespective of where they are located. And they also have to fully respect international humanitarian law. A recent directive with respect to crossing the contact line from government-held to rebel-held areas could make it exceedingly difficult for humanitarian actors to move aid into areas beyond government control.
It is critical that resources be made available to meet life-saving needs on the ground. The 2015 Strategic Response Plan requests USD189 million, and few commitments have been made as yet.
Mr. President and distinguished members of the Council,
Regrettably, the upsurge in fighting has been accompanied by mutual recriminations between Kiev and Russia, and a continued impasse on the diplomatic and political front. As the Secretary-General has repeatedly insisted, there is no substitute for direct and constructive dialogue to move peace forward.
The enforcement of a sustainable cease-fire, which presently exists in name only, is both urgent and of primary concern. The line of contact should be observed, and the other elements of the broader Minsk peace plan require expeditious implementation as well.
We hope that today’s Normandy Format meeting in Berlin at the Foreign Minister level will achieve the progress required to return to the implementation of Minsk and to allow to bring together the Normandy Heads of State. Diplomacy has to succeed.
The Minsk agreements offer a solid base for a resolution of the conflict in the Donbas. There cannot be any unilateral attempts to change their provisions, nor should any party selectively interpret the accords’ stipulations.
It is our understanding that the apparent differences in interpretation of the Minsk accords are small but the implications of addressing them in any other way but through dialogue are immense.
Visit to Ukraine
Mr. President and distinguished members of the Council,
In continuation of the Secretary-General’s good offices, I returned to Kiev on 15-17 December 2014 to exchange views with President Poroshenko, Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, Foreign Minister Klimkin, Speaker of Parliament Groisman, as well as international and bilateral partners.
With the new Ukrainian Government formed under Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, all interlocutors expressed their conviction that there was no more scope for delay and that deep and overdue economic, legislative, judicial and political reforms had to be tackled immediately.
I assured my interlocutors that the United Nations would never waver in its solidarity with the country. We remain ready to support all efforts to end the fighting for a durable and lasting peace to prevail. And we will continue to assist the Ukrainian authorities and citizens of Ukraine to usher in the changes that will be vital for a democratic, secure, independent and prosperous future.
In contrast to the present situation, Donbas was relatively calm during my visit. Nonetheless, all of my interlocutors shared the assessment that even if there is progress on the Minsk process, there is no quick resolution of the numerous challenges facing Ukraine, given the deep economic and geopolitical rifts that have been caused by and remain intrinsically linked to the conflict.
All of us -- especially the parties to the conflict -- have a responsibility to concertedly, and on a most urgent basis, assist in moving from a narrative of confrontation to a narrative of cooperation, from a logic of war to a logic of peace.
Thank you.