SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Russia ‘can only be forced into peace’ says Zelenskyy
United Nations, 24 September 2024
The UN Security Council is meeting for a high level briefing on the Ukraine war. The UN Secretary-General told foreign ministers and ambassadors that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since 2014, when Moscow took Crimea, was “a clear violation of the UN Charter.” We’ll have full coverage as it happens, and UN News app users can follow here.
Security Council high-level meeting on the situation in Ukraine
Watch the Security Council high-level meeting on the situation in Ukraine on UN WebTV below:
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Sep 24, 2024 11:16 PM
Remove the ‘cancerous tumour’ of the Kyiv regime: Russia
Claiming that “Russia has always been ready to live in peace and as good neighbours with Ukraine”, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the country has become an “aggressive, Russophobe, neo-Nazi wasp nest”, seeking to join “the militarist block of NATO”.
He noted that President Biden had spoken of the need to save Ukraine, but the “Ukrainian nation is not in any danger. We are not fighting it. We are fighting a criminal regime that has seized power in Kyiv and is leading its people to disaster.”
Root causes
A just and sustainable settlement of the crisis, the Russian envoy suggested, is impossible without resolving its root causes – first of all by stopping violations against the Russian-speaking population and cancelling other discriminatory laws.
“Today we hear multiple calls for a political and diplomatic solution, based on the UN Charter”, Mr. Nebenzia said, but without overcoming the legacy of what Moscow calls the Maidan coup of early 2014, ridding the country of nationalism, Nazism and other discrimination – in keeping with Article 1.3 of the Charter – “there could be no settlement.”
He said the “cancerous tumour” that is the Kyiv regime must be removed through peaceful means, and if not, Moscow will be forced to continue its “special military operation” until its objectives are met.
Sep 24, 2024 10:47 PM
Clearing landmines in Ukraine: The hidden dangers
Ukraine is now one of the world’s most heavily landmine-contaminated countries. It’s estimated that about one third of the country has been exposed to war, an area four and a half times the size of Switzerland.
The UN has been working with Ukraine’s Government for 30 years and has led the mine action programme since 2016. Paul Heslop has been clearing mines for 30 years, in hotspots ranging from Mozambique to Afghanistan.
But as he sees it, all of those experiences were a “dress rehearsal” for Ukraine, his current and most challenging mission yet.
Watch the full report above.
Sep 24, 2024 10:38 PM
Sep 24, 2024 10:37 PM
Japan: Russia’s indiscriminate attacks are war crimes
UN News
Takeshi Akahori, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, said Russia must uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law, emphasising that deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets are in flagrant violation of international law and constitute war crimes.
“It is unacceptable that a permanent member of the Security Council, on which the UN Charter confers the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, is continuing to disregard international law by attempting to unilaterally change the status quo by force,” he said.
Moscow has violated the very Council resolutions it voted in favour of by procuring ballistic missiles from DPRK and using them against Ukraine, he said.
Japan condemns Russia’s seizure and continued control and militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, he said, adding that as the only country to have ever suffered atomic bombings during the war, Tokyo does not accept Russia’s nuclear threats, let alone its use of nuclear weapons.
“The only country worthy of blame for the present situation of Ukraine is Russia,” he said, strongly calling for Russia to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw from Ukraine.
Sep 24, 2024 10:37 PM
Sep 24, 2024 10:33 PM
UK: Russia’s attempt to return to the imperialism of the past
UN Photo/Manuel Elías
Making his first major speech in the Security Council as Foreign Secretary of the UK, David Lammy condemned Russia for “trying to return us to a world of the past”, laden with imperialism and the redrawing of borders by force.
He denounced Russia’s role on the Council, emphasising that its actions tear up the UN Charter and its amendments put forth over the weekend are “designed to wreck the UN’s future”.
“When you fire missiles into Ukraine hospitals, we know who you are. When you send mercenaries into African countries, we know who you are. When you murder opponents in European cities, we know who you are,” he underscored, directing his remarks to the Russian representative.
He added that Russia is seeking to expand its “mafia state” into a “mafia empire”, an empire built on corruption, crushing dissent and lies.
“Ukraine’s fight matters to us all,” he stated firmly, adding that the UK will remain Ukraine’s “staunchest supporter”.
Sep 24, 2024 10:22 PM
Sep 24, 2024 10:20 PM
UN calls for safe, unimpeded passage of aid to Ukraine
On 10 September, the Security Council debated the latest barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks that have targeted multiple cities across Ukraine in recent days. The acting UN Emergency Relief Coordinator told ambassadors that the human suffering during Russia’s on-going invasion “continues at intolerable levels”.
Read our live coverage of the debate at news.un.org.
Sep 24, 2024 10:19 PM
Sep 24, 2024 10:11 PM
UN humanitarians fight for women’s rights in crisis zones
Workers with the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, have some of the toughest assignments going in the humanitarian field, helping protect new mothers and babies often born in the midst of intense conflict zones.
For this episode of our flagship podcast, The Lid is On, two UNFPA representatives reflect on their lifesaving work with UN News’s Shanaé Harte. They discuss some of the most difficult challenges they’ve faced while providing insight into what changes can be made to improve women’s rights worldwide.
Listen to the full interview at news.un.org.
Sep 24, 2024 10:08 PM
US: ‘Textbook example of threat to international peace and security’
UNFPA
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the full-scale Russian invasion was a “textbook example of a threat to international peace and security” of the type that the Security Council was established to prevent.
He told diplomats around the Council’s horseshoe-shaped table that the question was not what President Putin of Russia would do next in the war: “We already know that Putin will continue to wager an unjust war.”
The question, he said, was how members of the UN Security Council “can end Putin’s war and reinforce the international rules and rights that make all our nations safer and more secure”.
Secretary Blinken highlighted Russia’s growing cooperation with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Iran, which he said was bringing “carnage, suffering and ruin on innocent Ukrainian men, and women”.
He added that cooperation between the three countries would “exacerbate threats” to international peace and security.
Sep 24, 2024 09:51 PM
Sep 24, 2024 09:50 PM
UN warns of continued prohibited weapons transfers to Ukraine, Russia
Amid continuing prohibited weapons transfers to Ukraine and Russia during the ongoing war, top disarmament and legal officials issued calls earlier this month for parties to the conflict to abide by international law and protect civilians.
Read more at news.un.org.
Sep 24, 2024 09:44 PM
End the flow of weapons onto the battlefield: China
UN News
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said he had noted the Ukrainian president’s words, but the prospect of peace is still far away.
Every day it drags on, brings more suffering to the people “and more volatility to the world”.
China’s proposal is to realise the extent of the crisis “and cool down the situation”. There should be three principles at play: no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no further provocations by any of the parties.
He said the more that weapons are sent to the battlefield, the harder it will be to achieve the goal of a ceasefire.
“This is the reality that we must face up to,” he said. ”All parties must abandon the cold war confrontation mentality.”
Dialogue and negotiation are the only way to end the war and peace talks are essential.
More and more countries in the Global South are coming together to support a peaceful settlement, he added.
Sep 24, 2024 09:38 PM
Russian attacks on Ukraine energy set to push 500,000 out of country
Repeated Russian attacks on energy infrastructure and power cuts in Ukraine will likely uproot an additional 500,000 people ahead of the coming winter, UN human rights monitors said.
Read more at news.un.org.
Sep 24, 2024 09:31 PM
Ukraine: UN Charter must work
UN News
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said Russia’s war against his country “will end because the UN Charter will work. It must work.”
Russia could not explain why a Russian missile struck a vessel in the Black Sea or why its missiles are found in the airspace of Poland and other countries. Russian bombs have hit residential buildings, including a building that makes bread.
In addition, Russia has no legitimate reason for making Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea complicit, he said.
OCHA Ukraine
“We are exercising our right to defend our people,” he continued. “Russia has been doing things that cannot possibly be justified under the UN Charter. Russia is committing an international crime. That is why this war cannot be calmed by talks.”
Russia is now targeting nuclear power plants ahead of winter, he said, thanking those nations who have been assisting Ukraine.
“Russia can only be forced into peace,” he said, “and that is exactly what is needed…We all know what needs to be done. Unity always works for peace.”
What is needed now is determination, he concluded.
Sep 24, 2024 09:18 PM
Sep 24, 2024 09:14 PM
Russia’s full-scale invasion, a clear violation of UN Charter
UN chief António Guterres told the Council the UN Charter was very clear: all international disputes must be settled by peaceful means.
Russia invasion of Crimea a decade ago and the rest of Ukraine in 2022 “is a clear violation of those principles”, with civilians paying the price.
“The death toll keeps rising,” and 10 million Ukrainians have had to flee their homes.
“Despite immense challenges, the United Nations remains fully engaged as the largest international presence in Ukraine,” said the Secretary-General.
But, there needs to be more support from the international community, to meet civilians’ needs. All attacks on them need to cease immediately.
Regarding Ukraine’s nuclear power reactors, which are under Russian control, he urged all parties to act responsibly “and avoid any declaration or action that could further destabilize an already incendiary situation”.
Sep 24, 2024 09:12 PM
Torture ‘a common and acceptable practice’ in Ukraine
Russian authorities are using torture “with a sense of impunity” in the ongoing war in Ukraine, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva heard.
Read more at news.un.org.
Sep 24, 2024 09:01 PM
The original article appeared here.