Link to the UN General Assembly, 11th Emergency Special Session

[mia]

Last edited Mon Feb 28, 2022, 07:26 PM - Edit history (1)

It's fascinating to watch.

https://media.un.org/en/webtv

*The Special Session will resume tomorrow

[PoliticAverse]

1. Or on youtube...

[aeromanKC]

2. I started at about the -8:00 mark. Let's see what happens..........

[mia]

3. Opening Remarks

ABDULLA SHAHID (Maldives), President of the General Assembly, emphasizing that the military offensive by the Russian Federation is a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and is inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations, renewed the call for an immediate ceasefire, for all parties to exercise maximum restraint and for a full return to diplomacy and dialogue. Convening of this eleventh emergency special session, rooted in the Charter and resolution 377A(V), “Uniting for peace”, is a new opportunity to ensure that the leadership of the United Nations meets the expectation of the people it serves on matters related to peace and security. Welcoming the Secretary-General’s announcement that $20 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund will be allocated to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, he said security and access for humanitarian efforts must be guaranteed. The ongoing military offensive is inconsistent with the Charter, drafted so soon after the Second World War and based on the principle of sovereign equality to outline a world where Member States settle their international disputes by peaceful means, without the threat or use of force.

“Let us remind ourselves that we founded the United Nations to maintain international peace and security,” he continued. To that end, he said Member States must take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations. Recalling a rare window of opportunity opened on 27 February for dialogue, he said this chance must be used to meaningfully and rapidly de-escalate the situation. The General Assembly with its 193 Member States represents the collective conscience of humanity, and its strength is rooted in its moral authority. In this vein, he said: “Let’s demonstrate that moral courage and use today’s debate not to whip up war rhetoric, but to give peace a chance; let’s ignite the fire of love, humanity and compassion. Guns are better off when knotted. Let peace prevail.”

ANTÓNIO GUTERRES, Secretary-General of the United Nations, declared that the “the fighting in Ukraine must stop now”. Bombardments by the Russian Federation have been pounding the country day and night, and the capital, Kyiv, is now surrounded on all sides. Emphasizing that ordinary Ukrainians have been forced to shelter in subway stations and more than 500,000 have fled across the country’s borders, he also cited credible accounts of serious damage sustained by residential buildings and other non-military infrastructure. “Enough is enough,” he stressed, describing those attacks against Ukraine as unacceptable. Civilians must be protected and international law upheld, and Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders must be respected.

Warning of potentially dire consequences for the wider region and the entire world, he recalled that on 27 February the Russian Federation put the country’s nuclear forces on high alert. Welcoming the generosity of Ukraine’s neighbours, he recalled that during a recent call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he reassured him that the United Nations will not abandon Ukraine during its time of need. The Organization is already providing humanitarian assistance to some 3 million people on both sides of the contact line. “We are fully committed to staying and delivering,” he said, noting that operations are expanding to quickly get help to those who need it. Among other things, he has allocated $20 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund and appointed Amin Awad as Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine. On 1 March, the United Nations will launch two coordinated humanitarian appeals, one addressing the needs inside Ukraine, and the other seeking to support those crossing the country’s borders.

Calling on all sides to uphold their obligations to facilitate safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian assistance, he urged all Member States to mobilize in support of the humanitarian appeals to help those in and outside Ukraine “whose numbers will only grow” given the magnitude of the crisis. However, while aid is critical, the only true solution to the crisis is peace. The attack on Ukraine challenges international law and the global rules-based order, he said, spotlighting the possible widespread economic implications of the crisis. “The guns are talking now, but the path of dialogue must always remain open,” he said, expressing hope that the current talks taking place between the two sides will end the fighting and pave a path to lasting peace. Describing war as a distraction from the real crises facing humanity today, he stressed: “Humanity cannot afford to be locked in a mindset that dredges up the worst of the last century.”

https://www.un.org/press/en/2022/ga12404.doc.htm

[mia]

4. Ukraine Statement

SERGIY KYSLYTSYA (Ukraine) said that, for the first time since the birth of the United Nations, there is a full-fledged war in the heart of Europe. “Everyone in this hall, and everyone in the world, knows that Russia and Russia alone started this invasion,” he said. Speaking in Russian, he read from a series of mobile phone text messages between a Russian soldier and his mother, moments before he was killed. That death toll is only rising, he said, stressing that a large global Power — seeking military greatness — has launched a full-scale attack on its smaller neighbour. “Does this remind you of something?”, he asked, spotlighting direct parallels between the current situation and the beginning of the Second World War. Just this morning, the Russian army launched a major attack on the residential areas of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

Thanking the Secretary-General for his strong stance in support of peace and the United Nations Charter, he said Ukraine was forced to call for today’s emergency special session given the extraordinary circumstances it faces, and following the defeat of an important draft resolution in the Security Council last week. “We do not accept the Russian logic that the Council was unable to act due to one-sided rhetoric,” he said. Today, Moscow’s missiles are aimed at critical infrastructure near Kyiv, including bridges, airports and water reservoirs. Many residential buildings have been destroyed and kindergartens and medical facilities have been struck. Noting that Russian forces have also seized the Chernobyl nuclear power facility, with radiation levels increasing significantly, he emphasized that Ukraine has activated its right to self-defence in line with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

In response to all those actions, he said, the General Assembly should be vocal in demanding an end to all acts of aggression against a sovereign and independent State. Those demands must include a full and immediate withdrawal of Russian forces, a reversal of the Russian Federation’s decision regarding the status of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, and the recognition of the treacherous role played by Belarus in supporting those actions. “What is happening now in Ukraine has already had humanitarian and security implications for all of you,” he said, citing impacts on food systems, energy supplies and financial markets.

He warned that, should the United Nations fail to respond to the crisis, it will face much more than criticism — it will face oblivion. As his country continues to pay the ultimate price for freedom, he stressed: “If Ukraine does not survive, international peace will not survive.” The fate of the United Nations is also at stake. Concluding, he posited that while the Russian Federation has done everything possible to legitimize its presence at the United Nations, its membership is not legitimate, as the General Assembly never voted on its admission to the Organization following the fall of the Soviet Union in December 1991.

https://www.un.org/press/en/2022/ga12404.doc.htm

[mia]

5. Russian Federation Statement

VASSILY A. NEBENZIA (Russian Federation) said the root of the crisis lies in Ukraine itself, which flouted the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, failed to engage in dialogue with Donetsk and Luhansk and denied recognizing them. In February, provocation continued against the people of Donbas, which requested assistance from Moscow at a time when a flood of refugees were entering the Russian Federation as Western partners turned an uncompassionate blind eye. As such, President Putin decided to react, in line with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, with the goal being to protect those people who had suffered torment and genocide, he said, adding that: “There is a need to de-Nazify Ukraine.” Indeed, the issue of sovereignty and the territorial integrity of States feature in accusations against the Russian Federation, but these principles must apply to States that conduct themselves in line with existing norms, which Ukraine has not. His delegation is exercising its right to self-defence from Ukraine, which strives to obtain nuclear weapons, seeks North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership and is making territorial claims against the Russian Federation, which is protecting itself from a nationalist threat. Instead of compelling Kyiv to comply with its obligations, the West is repeating the senseless mantra that the Minsk agreements are not being implemented by the Russian Federation, which is not even part of those instruments.

The Western countries have “created a bubble that cannot but pop”, he said, noting the warnings issued in 2008 that members of NATO should think “three times” before allowing Ukraine and Georgia to join its alliance. Yet, in 2014, a brutal anti-constitutional coup in Kyiv saw nationalists and radicals seizing power to create an anti-Russian policy and a push to join NATO. Emphasizing that “for Ukraine to join NATO is a red line”, he said these actions compelled the Russian Federation to adopt measures in response. Recently, Moscow had proposed that agreements would be made between the United States and NATO, but this was rebuffed with counter-offers to discuss secondary issues. The United Nations can help to bring stakeholders together to address the situation. However, lacking any attempts to date to calmly discuss this issue, the Russian Federation voted against the draft Security Council resolution on 25 February, which was an anti-Russian and anti-Ukraine attempt to salvage and cement Kyiv authorities who have brought the country to the brink of tragedy. The Russian Federation also vetoed the draft due to issues unaddressed in its provisions: how the 2014 coup resulted with the Maidan junta raining bombs on the people of Donetsk and Luhansk, with the blessing of Western partners; how death squads and neo-Nazis shelled women and children in Donbas for eight years; and how protestors were burned alive, shot by snipers flaunting their presence.

The root of the conflict lies at the feet of the Ukraine authorities and the Western countries supporting them, he said. Right now lies are being spread across media outlets, including that the Russian Federation is shelling civilians. Nationalists, however, are deploying heavy equipment and operating in civilian areas — tactics used by terrorists that must be condemned. For eight years, a human rights body has reported how the neo-Nazis were born and are being maintained in Ukraine, with condemned criminals and convicts carrying out grave crimes, 25,000 machine guns being distributed without documentation, and with parties being tasked with slaughtering communities. On social networks, an information war has been unleashed, he said, citing 1.2 million pieces of fake news, including the correspondence just recited by his counterpart from Ukraine. To disregard the concerns of the Russian Federation runs counter to international principles. The Russian Federation did not begin these hostilities, which were unleashed by Ukraine, he said, adding that “Russia is seeking to end this war.”

https://www.un.org/press/en/2022/ga12404.doc.htm