by the United Nations

“ FRANCISCO TENYA (Peru) reiterating his country’s commitment to defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine in line with the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, expressed concern over the continued fighting and deplored its effects on civilians. Condemning in particular the use of anti‐personnel mines — which ran contrary to the Ottawa Convention — as well as the downing of flight MH17, he said the Minsk agreements remained the core of any future political resolution to the conflict. ”

“ Ursula Mueller, Assistant Secretary‐General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that civilians continued to bear the brunt of the conflict. Noting that civilians on the ground regularly risked shelling, sniper fire and landmines, she stressed that civilians must be protected and urged all parties to respect international law. Despite repeated appeals, water treatment workers and facilities continued to be targeted, including eight attacks against the Donetsk filtration station — which supplied water to over 345,000 people — in the last 40 days. ”

“ Addressing the legitimate concerns of all parties — and balancing their interests — would be critical, he stressed, underlining the long and complex history of the conflict. All parties should implement resolution 2202 (2015) , cease hostilities, remain committed to seeking a lasting, balanced resolution, promote harmony among all ethnic groups in Ukraine and pursue Ukraine’s peaceful coexistence with its regional neighbours. For its part, the Council should support negotiations that were conducive to a lasting peace. ”

“ Describing the severe humanitarian impacts of the conflict — as well as the daily reality of shelling and armed hostilities experienced by some 600,000 Ukrainians living on both sides of the contact line — he cited several recent examples of the Russian Federation’s aggression and violations of human rights. “The Kremlin, in pursuit of its grand geopolitical agenda, does not appreciate the value of human life,” he said. ”

“ Indeed, parties must find comprehensive and balanced solutions to the crisis through dialogue in the Normandy format. For their part, Ukraine and the Russian Federation must show political will by upholding the ceasefire and relaunching negotiations. On the downing of MH17, he stressed the importance of abiding by resolution 2166 (2014) , noting that 40 per cent of people along the contact line suffered daily under shelling. He underscored the importance of aid delivery and implementation of the Minsk agreements to find a peaceful settlement to the conflict. ”

“ Calling on the United Nations to take up its role in defence of civilians, he noted that a General Assembly resolution adopted in December 2017 had recognized the existence of an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation and had condemned the retroactive application of the latter’s legal system in the occupied territory — as well as the imposition of automatic Russian citizenship on Ukrainian citizens. ”

“ Briefing the Council this afternoon, senior political and humanitarian officials from the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) voiced concern that the situation in the Donbass region remained volatile and the use of prohibited weapons such as landmines threatened some 600,000 civilians near the contact line between Ukraine and the contested area. ”

“ Ertuğrul Apakan, Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, said that since January, more than 100,000 ceasefire violations had been recorded. Following a short pause in the violence over Easter, fighting had increased, mainly in two areas in the Donetsk region. Describing the use of artillery such as multiple launch rocket systems, he urged the immediate removal of such weapons — prohibited under the Minsk agreements — especially from populated areas. ”

“ Civilians must be protected under international humanitarian and human rights law and humanitarian personnel must have access to the entire territory of Ukraine — including areas outside the Government’s control, he said, drawing attention to systematic human rights violations against non‐governmental activists and indigenous Crimean Tatars. ”

“ He also called for the facilitation of humanitarian organizations to Donbass and for all parties to protect civilian infrastructure, especially the filtration centre, noting that an exchange of detainees could help build confidence. The conflict’s long‐term resolution hinged on political and economic measures, he said, citing progress by Ukraine to implement its Minsk agreements commitments and noting that legislative provisions must be finalized to hold elections in Donetsk and Luhansk. Other measures were needed to guarantee the right to dispatch a team to evaluate environmental issues. ”

“ He expressed concern over nationalist feelings around the birthday of Stepan Bandera, pointing also to 2 May 2014, when radicals in Odessa had burned people alive in the House of Trade Unions, an act described as heroic by Ukrainian nationalists. Those were reasons why people in Crimea had decided to move away from Ukraine. Donbass residents had not been as lucky: they had requested autonomy, the ability to speak their own language and honour their own heroes. ”

“ Families lived in damp basements and more than 100,000 children attended schools with windows lined with sandbags. “Wars have limits,” she said, urging all parties to avoid and minimize civilian harm. ”