Delegations Stress Need to Implement Minsk Agreements in Full, End
Widespread Human Rights Violations, Stabilize Humanitarian Situation
Despite a reduction in clashes following the recent
ceasefire agreement, the situation in eastern Ukraine remained “tense and
volatile”, characterized by widespread human rights violations and a
deteriorating humanitarian situation, senior United Nations officials told the
Security Council today, in the first meeting to be held on the matter in six
months.
In addition, they said, most provisions of the
agreements signed in Minsk — with a view to ending the ongoing conflict between
Ukraine and separatists in the east — remained unimplemented, and lasting peace
was still out of reach. “The Minsk agreements remain the best available
viable and accepted path to resolving the conflict,” said Deputy
Secretary-General Jan Eliasson as he briefed the Council. Fighting had
generally subsided since the ceasefire on 1 September and the parties to
the conflict had begun to implement the agreement to withdraw so-called
“lighter” weapons from the contact line, he said. However, sporadic
clashes continued and the use of weapons had been reported throughout the
conflict zone.
On the diplomatic front, he said, “modest yet
tangible” progress had been made following the 2 October meeting among the
leaders of France, Germany, Russian Federation and Ukraine. Rebels in
eastern Ukraine had announced a postponement of the self-declared local
elections, and the parties had committed to finding a compromise on the
modalities for voting in rebel-held territory, with respect for Ukrainian law
and in line with international best practices. However, failure to reach
a compromise on remaining issues threatened the whole political process, and
the danger of “serious escalation” remained.
Ivan Šimonović, Assistant Secretary-General for Human
Rights, provided the Council with an assessment of the human rights situation
based on the work of the Monitoring Mission of the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Noting a recent decrease in the
overall number of civilian casualties, he nevertheless said that the absence of
the rule of law made the human rights situation in the self-proclaimed “Donetsk
People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic” very difficult. In
Crimea, meanwhile, the human rights situation had shown no signs of improvement
in 2015.
John Ging, Director of Operations in the Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), decried the July expulsion of
many humanitarian aid agencies by the de facto authorities in
non-Government-controlled areas, saying it was preventing aid from reaching
those in need. Some 2.7 million people were living in such areas,
enduring limited freedom of movement, while 800,000 others lived in
difficult and dangerous conditions along the line between separatist- and
Government-controlled areas. Around one million people were displaced, he
added.
Speaking via video conference from Kyiv, Ertuğrul
Apakan, Chief Monitor for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, described violations of
the ceasefire agreement in several “hotspots” within the Donetsk region.
While those violations did not reflect a military expansion, they had resulted
in a further erosion of trust, he said, adding that violations could be
attributed to both sides, using mostly small arms and light weapons. The
widespread presence of mines and other unexploded ordnance in the conflict zone
was also a matter of concern.
As the floor was opened to Council members, a number
of speakers expressed concern over the slow pace in implementing the Minsk agreements
and recent flare-ups of fighting. Others reiterated their support for
Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, voicing frustration at the
ongoing “illegal annexation” of Crimea and calling for the Russian Federation
to end its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
In that vein, Lithuania’s representative said Ukraine
was suffering from a conflict initiated under false pretexts and supported by
an aggressive campaign of propaganda and hate. The forcible redrawing of
its borders and continued violations of its sovereignty remained a major
challenge for the international community to address. The Russian
Federation’s aggression had left more than 9,000 dead people and over
20,000 injured, he said, adding that grave human rights violations were
being committed in areas controlled by that country’s proxies.
Pavlo Klimkin, Ukraine’s Minister for Foreign Affairs,
declared: “Let’s use the chance of Minsk before it slips away,” as he
called for an end to the “madness” in the east of his country. Almost
300 days had passed since the adoption of Council
resolution 2202 (2015), which unanimously endorsed the Minsk
agreements, and a final political solution was not yet in sight.
“Coherent international action” was needed to secure sustainable de-escalation,
he said, reminding the Council that Ukraine had requested the deployment of a
peacekeeping mission to support implementation of the Minsk agreements.
Emphasizing that only full implementation of the
accords would resolve the current conflict, the Russian Federation’s
representative said tensions had resurfaced in recent months with the Ukrainian
side’s seizure of several villages in the buffer zone and continued
shelling. In addition, Ukraine refused to engage in dialogue with
representatives of Donbas, and “war-mongering rhetoric” still emerged from Kyiv
as an ideology of extremism — including neo-Nazism — continued to prevail
there.
Venezuela’s representative reiterated that full
application of Council resolution 2202 (2015) was essential for
efforts by the parties to find a resolution to the conflict. Furthermore,
the application of unilateral, coercive sanctions would “sour the atmosphere”
necessary for dialogue, he said, adding that such measures were incompatible
with peace. All possible efforts must be made to address the deep
historical roots of the conflict, he stressed.
Also speaking today were representatives of France,
United Kingdom, Nigeria, Angola, Jordan, China, New Zealand, Spain, Chile,
Chad, Malaysia and the United States.
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