The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a year ago, constituted a “flagrant violation” of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, the Secretary General of the United Nations Organization (UN) said this Friday before the Security Council. , Antonio Guterres.
At a ministerial-level meeting to commemorate one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Guterres used a harsh speech to remind that the purposes and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter “are not a matter of convenience,” nor “just words on paper”. . .
In retrospect of the 365 days of war, the former Portuguese prime minister indicated that the Security Council held more than 40 debates on Ukraine and recalled the words he uttered exactly one year ago, when he appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to , “in the name of humanity”, not to allow what “could be the worst war since the beginning of the century” to start in Europe.
“I said we should give peace a chance. But peace had no chance. War ruled the day. (…) It unleashed widespread death, destruction and forced displacement. (…) Life is hell for people people from Ukraine,” he stressed.
The leader of the United Nations highlighted the figures of the war: 17.6 million people – almost 40% of the Ukrainian population – in need of humanitarian assistance and protection; 30% of pre-war jobs eliminated; more than eight million refugees; more than 700 attacks on health establishments; more than 3,000 schools and colleges damaged or destroyed, among many others.
“Less measurable, but no less important, is the devastating impact of months of forced displacement and shelling on the mental health of Ukrainians. Nearly 10 million people, including 7.8 million children, are at risk of disorder acute post-traumatic stress,” he said. she noted, adding that “also the Russian Federation is suffering the deadly consequences.”
The UN chief also warned of veiled threats to use nuclear weapons in the context of the conflict, which “raised nuclear risks to levels not seen since the darkest days of the Cold War.”
António Guterres ended his speech with a call for peace, but in accordance with the UN Charter and international law, stressing the need to account for the attacks committed.
“The guns speak now, but in the end we all know that the path of diplomacy and accountability is the path to a just and sustainable peace. Peace in accordance with the UN Charter and international law,” he said.
“We must avoid further escalation. We must all encourage all significant efforts to end the bloodshed and finally give peace a chance,” the UN Secretary General reinforced.
The meeting, headed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malta (the country that is chairing the Security Council this month), Ian Borg, was also attended by the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, as well as ministers and members of the Government from various countries.
Before addressing the Council, Borrell told reporters that the document presented today by China on the war in Ukraine “is not a peace plan”, without however wanting to “reject” it.
“It is not a peace plan, it is a position in which China reaffirms the positions expressed from the beginning,” Borrell said, listing its defects: it is not operational, it has not consulted the two parties in the conflict, and it also places “the aggressor and aggressed” at the same level.
Thus, he recalled that previous peace initiatives such as those promoted by Senegal and Indonesia had included diplomatic missions of their envoys to Russia and Ukraine to promote these initiatives, for which reason he encouraged the Chinese “to go to Kiev, as they went to Moscow”. “.
The head of European diplomacy insisted that China’s proposal “contains interesting elements”, among them the non-recourse to nuclear weapons, the exchange of prisoners or the grain agreements, but that is not enough, he emphasized.
Source: TSF
