Security Council

8386th Security Council Meeting: Letters from Ukraine and Russian Federation

Amid increased civilian deaths, planned separatist elections in eastern Ukraine, renewed talks key to end fighting, top political official tells Security Council at 8386th meeting.
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Reporting civilian casualties again on the rise and separatist elections planned outside of the long-stalled Minsk agreements in eastern Ukraine, the United Nations top political-affairs official today called on all parties to recommit to swift implementation of those agreements to end the conflict.

“It is time for renewed and constructive action by all concerned to overcome the apparent impasse in diplomatic negotiations,” Rosemary DiCarlo, Under‑Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said this afternoon in a briefing to the Security Council in which she was joined by Ursula Mueller, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator.

With little progress in talks to end the fighting, Ms. DiCarlo said the conflict, now in its fifth year, remained explosive, with ceasefire violations increasing following a recent lull, resulting in over 20 civilian casualties. She called on the parties to immediately and strictly observe their commitments, cease fighting, ensure the safety of civilians and humanitarian workers, withdraw heavy weapons and protect civilian infrastructure. Paying tribute to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission, she reiterated the call for all to ensure its safety and freedom of movement.

Urging all parties to avoid any unilateral steps that diverged from the Minsk agreements, which she affirmed remained the only framework to end the conflict, she reported that on 7 September, the de facto entities in Donetsk and Luhansk announced the holding of so-called “leadership” elections scheduled for 11 November despite Ukraine’s objections. She cautioned that the votes would be incompatible with the peace process.

Ms. Mueller said millions of men, women and children continue to face dire humanitarian consequences in Europe’s forgotten armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. More than 3,000 civilians have been killed and up to 9,000 injured since the conflict began in 2014, affecting the highest proportion of elderly people in the world, more than 30 per cent. She added that the “contact line” between the sides has dramatically altered the lives of millions of civilians, as people are separated from their families, services and livelihoods. Appealing for more to be done on both sides to improve crossing conditions, she said essential services require urgent improvement, especially water and sanitation facilities.

She also observed that more than 100 civilians have been killed or injured due to extensive mine and unexploded ordnance contamination in 2018. Emphasizing that over 3.5 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2019, she said funding for humanitarian action has steadily decreased. The 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan, which requires $187 million, is only 32 per cent funded. Without adequate funds, food, healthcare, water, sanitation and other life-saving assistance cannot be provided.

Ahead of those briefings, the Council rejected an additional briefing from Elena V. Kravchenko by a vote of 7 against to 1 in favour (Russian Federation) with 7 abstaining. Ahead of the vote, the representative of the Russian Federation decried the fact that the delegations who called today’s meeting did not want to hear from someone from the region that they were discussing. An open discussion should be held that includes briefers representing the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, in line with the spirit of transparency, he said.

The representative of Sweden, noting his country had co-sponsored the meeting, argued that Ms. Kravchenko did not represent a Government but an “illegal separatist entity” and warned that her briefing the Council would set a dangerous precedent.

Speaking after the vote, Council members urged the parties to abide by the ceasefire and to urgently fulfil all the provisions of the Minsk agreements, which they said remain the only framework for progress in reaching a peace. Expressing concern about the humanitarian situation, they also urged the parties to act in accordance with international humanitarian law and to respect the OSCE Monitoring Mission.

Many speakers ascribed responsibility for the continued violence to the Russian Federation due to its support for separatists, reiterating their commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine, their rejection of the annexation of Crimea and their disapproval of the proposed elections. In that vein, the representative of the United Kingdom called it “a charade, and a grisly one at that”. She called on the Russian Federation to use its considerable influence to stop them, and to end its arms transfers into Ukraine and destabilizing activities in the Azov Sea area.

The representative of the Russian Federation, however, denied that the proposed elections have any bearing on the Minsk agreements, as they pertain instead to municipal elections. Meanwhile, he said that Kiev is refusing to abide by its commitments and is engaging in provocative rhetoric; that is why the situation in the east remains explosive. Statements by Council members attesting to Ukraine’s fulfilment of Minsk commitments only showed that the speakers were unfamiliar with the agreements themselves. Provisions on elections and decentralization, among many others, are not being fulfilled. Deception would not restore the oppressive situation in the east. “The genie has been let out of the bottle, you can’t put it back,” he said.

Speaking last, Ukraine’s representative, expressing deep disappointment at the Russian Federation’s stance on the war-torn Donbass region, said holding “so-called early elections” in Donetsk and Luhansk would amount to putting armed gang leaders in illegitimate representative bodies. He also decried continued Russian transfers of heavy weaponry, Russian interference with vessels in the Sea of Azov, the illegal building of the Kerch Strait Bridge and human rights violations in Crimea. Saying his Government is nonetheless ready for constructive engagement to end the conflict, he maintained that the Russian Federation has shown no such readiness.

Also speaking this afternoon after the briefing were the representatives of the United States, France, Poland, Netherlands, Equatorial Guinea, Peru, China, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia and Bolivia.

The meeting began at 3:03 p.m. and ended at 4:49 p.m.

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