Виступ делегації України під час загальних дебатів Четвертого комітету ГА ООН
Mr. Chairperson,
The Delegation of Ukraine congratulates you and other members of the Bureau on your election and assures you on its constructive engagement throughout the Committee’s activities.
The Delegation of Ukraine will speak today on the agenda items 50, 51, 54 and 56, while detailed written statements to be further submitted.
Mr.Chairperson,
I use this opportunity to commend the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation and its secretariat for the efforts to ensure the sustainable and effective work amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ensuring the sufficient and predictable funding, as well as efficient management of the secretariat of the Scientific Committee is a prerequisite for continuity of its work.
Ukraine welcomes the fact that the scope of the Committee’s researches continues to evolve. We note that three new scientific evaluations have been initiated in addition to four on-going projects.
Ukraine, as an active member of the UNSCEAR, stands ready to continue updating and consolidating the findings and conclusions of the Committee’s assessment of the radiological consequences of the nuclear accidents.
Ukraine is ready to further contribute to the preparation and publication of the UNSCEAR’s relevant documents, based on our national experience and researches on the effects of radiation on human health and the environment.
While acknowledging the importance of attendance of previous and upcoming Committee’s sessions by several Member States as observers, Ukraine strongly believes that the decision to invite an observer to become a member of the Committee should be taken with due consideration to the principles laid out in Articles 1 and 2 of the UN Charter as well as the Secretary General’s suggested framework of criteria and indicators for membership as included in SG 66/524.
The Government of Ukraine supports the UNSCEAR activities and we believe that the Committee should further maintain its present scientific function and independent role.
Mr.Chairperson,
There remains a need for an all-inclusive dialogue and meaningful cooperation among Member States within the framework of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). In the times of COVID-19 it is vital to ensure continuity in shaping international standards for space activities.
Ukraine reiterates that despite whatever barriers the world faces throughout this year, there should never be a room for legitimizing dialogue with the individuals, businesses and officials from state-aggressors or those states, which violate international law, and are subjects to the international sanctions.
We remind in this regard that due to the illegal temporarily occupation of Crimea Ukraine has lost control of the space facilities located on the peninsula, including the NIP-16 facility.
Built in 1960th for tracking space probes, this facility was managed until 2014 by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine with clear and transparent tasking in full conformity with the principles of peaceful use of the outer space. It speaks volumes that now the tracking facility is controlled by the Russian Ministry of Defence and is reportedly planned to be illegally integrated into Russia’s network already in 2020.
We consider this illegal step to be another evidence of strengthening military footprint in the Russian policies on both occupied Crimea and the outer space.
Notwithstanding the Russian aggression, Ukraine anticipates positive developments in the space domain. Restoring capabilities of the rocket-and-space complex is one of the main priorities for Ukraine. To achieve this goal we continue to foster international cooperation within a number of multilateral projects, such as Antares and Vega.
All international space activities of Ukraine are being carried out in accordance with the national legislation and our international obligations.
We deem it necessary for the international community to start working on a new comprehensive legally binding document to combine existing five outer space treaties and to include additional provisions to take into account the current trends of outer space activities.
Ukraine would like to reiterate its confidence that the peacekeeping remains one of the UN most valuable assets and efficient tools to respond to the situations of conflict and other security threats and challenges.
Ukraine has been a committed partner of the UN in peacekeeping activities ever since the very renewal of its independence. Despite being compelled now to defend its independence and territorial integrity from the armed aggression, Ukraine remains an active contributor to the UN peacekeeping, sending its military, police and civilian personnel and assets to UN peacekeeping missions throughout the globe. Today more than 300 “blue helmets”, including women, represent Ukraine in 6 PKOs.
At the same time, we consider that the avenues for improvement have yet to be explored. We welcome therefore the commitment to improve accountability, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness in the performance of the UN peacekeeping operations, as envisaged in the resolution 2378 (2017). Ukraine was among the first states to endorse the A4P Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations and expects this ambitious roadmap will continue to be followed with solid practical results, in particular in ensuring appropriate force generation, including aviation units.
Our efforts should also aim at developing intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance capacities and reducing the operations footprint on environment, as well taking active and concerted measures to enhance the safety and security of peacekeepers, including with regard to pandemic-related challenges.
Mr.Chairperson
Ukraine commends the efforts taken by Global Communications team under the able leadership of Under-Secretary-General Flemming.
The COVID-19 pandemic has added urgency to the need to update the information policies of the United Nations. Since the beginning of the health emergency Ukraine observed the attempts to explore pandemic as a new instrument of hostile propaganda and disinformation activities both in our country and beyond.
Bot and troll factories were mobilized to produce and disseminate fake news, to generate panic and sow distrust among democratic nations. We consider these information attacks to be another element of aggressive toolbox, used against Ukraine since 2014.
We commend the initiating the “Verified” campaign, aimed at tackling the spread of fakes and misinformation that affected the public awareness of COVID-19 and thus undermined the efficiency of our common response to the pandemic.
Ukraine has also been among the majority of the UN membership that endorsed the Cross-Regional Statement on “Infodemic” in the context of COVID-19. We share the commitment to create a healthy information environment at the national, regional and global levels, in which the “infodemic” is countered by scientific, evidenced-based information and facts.
Ukraine believes that a global and systematic approach is required to tackle the fake news. It is clear that such practices threaten the United Nations values. This United Nations should comprehensively address all attempts to falsify information and to use it as a tool for undermining public peace and security. Propaganda and disinformation, as well as those engaged in these activities, should be clearly dissociated from professional journalism and journalists.
We will succeed in our efforts if freedom of expression is respected and free, independent and pluralistic media are protected.
Ukraine remains committed to further strengthening the safe and conducive environment for free media and continues to take consistent measures to this end.
However, we remain deeply concerned over the deteriorating situation with the freedom of expression and the work of journalists in the occupied territories of Ukraine, both in Crimea and Donbas.
The recent report of the UN Secretary General on “Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine” reconfirms the absence of any positive changes in the media freedom domain. Safe environment for independent and pluralistic media remains a call by the international community, that the Occupying Power is unwilling to follow. At least 11 Crimean Tatars, illegally detained by the Russian Federation in the occupied Crimea, have been civil journalists.
We reiterate our call to immediately release all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens and to halt all violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the occupied territories of Ukraine, including in the media freedom domain.
Thank you, Mr.Chairperson.