First of all,
on behalf of Ukraine, I sincerely congratulate Mr. John
William Ashe on his election to serve as President of
the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. I wish
him success and fruitful work as he discharges this
important role.
The theme of the present session, “The post-2015
development agenda: setting the stage”, is undoubtedly
important for every Member State. The deadline for
achieving the Millennium Development Goals is fast
approaching, and the task of producing the ambitious
post-2015 action plan is becoming ever more urgent
for the international community. I am glad that
practical work on implementing that task has already
been launched. Its current intensity is confirmed by
two important events: the General Assembly special
event to follow up efforts made towards achieving the
Millennium Development Goals and the inaugural
meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable
Development.
I am convinced that the actions planned by the
President of the General Assembly will allow for
substantial acceleration during the sixty-eighth session
of the work on elaboration of development goals for the
upcoming period. We consider the innovative national
consultations mechanisms, which are being successfully
applied in the case of Ukraine, an important element
of this work. Ukraine stands ready to be engaged fully
and with maximum efficiency in these developments,
which are extremely important for the international
community.
The topic of sustainable energy as an item of the
post-2015 agenda is of particular significance to us. A
new, inclusive approach to that issue must ensure the
comprehensive consideration of security, social and
environmental aspects. Only such an approach will
facilitate sustainable development of energy, especially
as regards the efficiency and safety of the nuclear
sector. That objective would be favoured by the further
development of and joint action on the implementation
of the outcomes of Kyiv Summit on the Safe and
Innovative Use of Nuclear Energy, which was held in
April 2011.
Ukraine, which experienced the worst nuclear
accident in the history of humankind, is well aware of
the priority importance of issues of ecological safety,
the comprehensive conservation of the environment
and prudent management of water resources. We
encourage Member States to intensify international
interaction in this field as part of their observation of
the International Year of Water Cooperation and the
twentieth anniversary of World Water Day.
Ukraine will continue to diligently do its part
to achieve the Millennium Development Goals at
the national level. We are eager to establish positive
momentum on many key national development
indicators. These indicators include poverty alleviation,
quality education, environmental conservation,
maternal health improvement and child mortality
reduction, among others. The leading catalyst for
Ukraine’s progress towards the Goals is the reform
programme, which is the largest such programme in
the recent history of our country, aimed at both social
and economic transformations as well as the further
strengthening of the democratic system and the rule of
law. The fundamental basis for internal transformation
in Ukraine will continue to be supremacy of the
principle of social justice.
We also view Ukraine’s European integration
aspirations in the light of sustainable development.
These aspirations are a determining vector for the
country’s development. Ukraine makes its contribution
to the greater European project, which unites the
interests and development goals of the countries of the
West to those of the East of our continent. I strongly
believe that the signing in November of the Association
Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union,
including the creation of a Deep and Comprehensive
Free Trade Area, will be an important tool in raising
the welfare of Ukrainian citizens and will duly assist
our country in achieving the Millennium Development
Goals.
It has long been broadly agreed that sustainable
development is impossible without efficient international
security. Conversely, lasting peace is impossible
without sustainable development. Events since last
year’s debate have clearly shown the inconsistency
and instability of the world today. It is a world that,
despite our common efforts, has not embarked on a
more even and reliable trajectory of universal peace.
On the contrary, according to the Global Peace Index,
our world has become less safe than it was five years
ago.
One of the most painful security problems of today
is the civil conflict in Syria, which, unfortunately, is
increasingly crossing borders and becoming the source
of threats on a regional scale. There is no justification
for bloodshed and suffering of the civilian population,
including women and children, more than 1.5 million
refugees and internally displaced persons, and tens
of thousands of foreign citizens who have found
themselves in danger. We must do everything in our
power to allay the pain and to contain and heal the open
wound of his conflict as soon as possible.
In our joint actions to settle the conflict, we have
to rely on humanistic values, sobriety, competence and
mutual responsibility. Ukraine has extended its helping
hand to the Syrian population by rendering assistance
through United Nations mechanisms. Today, we urge
the entire international community to take part in that
humanitarian mission.
We welcome the plan produced by Russia and
the United States to place the Syrian stockpiles of
chemical weapons under the control of the international
community for their subsequent destruction. At the
same time, Ukraine is convinced that the successful
implementation of that plan would give hope for that
conflict to be brought under control and leave space for a
political and diplomatic settlement. It is time to promote
the establishment of as wide a platform as possible so as
to reach, through multilateral negotiations, a political
solution that will make it possible to restore peace and
stability in Syria.
With respect to pressing problems in the context
of contemporary international security, I would like to
draw attention to the issue of cybersecurity, which is
becoming increasingly important given the development
of the information society. Ukraine attaches great
significance to that issue as well as to the development
of up-to-date mechanisms to combat cybercrimes.
We believe that we should focus on strengthening
control over the use of the Internet and cyberspace for
criminal purposes and for other dangerous, primarily
military ends. I am convinced that this process should
be led by the United Nations. The United Nations is
the best instrument for transforming the Internet into a
space of freedom that works in the interests and to the
benefit of all nations throughout the world.
I believe that it is within our power to make the world
safer. The ideals of peace and the peaceful coexistence
of nations are not hollow words for Ukraine but a clear
guideline that has informed all of our actions on the
international stage since we became independent. That
imperative is at the heart of every step and initiative
taken by our country in the world arena. The fact
that this year Ukraine holds the chairmanship of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) — the largest international regional forum — is
a vivid example of that commitment. It is an honour
for us, and we view our responsible mission primarily
as a mechanism for the consolidation of security and
stability in Europe.
The Ukrainian chairmanship focuses in particular
on the settlement of protracted conflicts and the
resumption of control over conventional weapons
within the OSCE area, the combat against trafficking
in human beings and other very pressing issues on the
Organization’s agenda. I wish to underline that in every
sector I have mentioned, some limited but practically
meaningful progress has been achieved.
Ukraine has also been able to give added urgency
to the issues of energy security and environmental
safety issues for the OSCE and take the issue of energy
efficiency to a new level. I am confident that the
successful realization of the priorities of the Ukrainian
chairmanship will allow for the intensifying of
cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE.
The year 2014 will mark the twentieth anniversary
of Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear-
weapon State. By ridding the world of its third-largest
nuclear arsenal, our country made an unprecedented
contribution to global nuclear disarmament. It was at
that time that Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Great
Britain and the United States concluded the Budapest
Memorandum on Security Assurances, joined later by
France and China.
In view of the historical significance of those
events and considering the recent alarming trends in
nuclear proliferation, Ukraine will initiate the holding,
at the current session of the General Assembly, of a
thematic conference. We expect that guarantor States,
countries that followed Ukraine’s example and other
interested parties will participate. I hope that this
international event will be a good opportunity to come
back to the issue of negative security assurances and
give it thorough consideration.
We stress that security assurances for those States
that gave up their nuclear arsenals and countries that
are not part of military unions must be reflected in a
legally binding international document.
We look forward to the holding of a successful
Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague next year.
Ukraine looks to that global forum to produce new
qualitative outcomes and encourages all other countries
to make appropriate contributions to that cause.
Ukraine, as a maritime State, deploys continuing
efforts to secure maritime navigation safety and to
combat piracy at sea. The primary task in that field is to
reinforce the efficacy of mechanisms for the prosecution
of those guilty of perpetrating and financing piracy.
We will further contribute to the strengthening of
peace through our active participation in United Nations
missions in hotspots throughout the world. In its more
than 20 years of participation in peacekeeping activities
under the auspices of the United Nations, Ukraine has
contributed to more than 20 such operations. Today
its agenda includes the consolidation and expansion
of that experience in the context of the United Nations
missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and
Côte d’Ivoire.
At the same time, we cannot but take note of
the existing problems with respect to the current
peacekeeping activities of our Organization. Along with
other countries that are contributors of Blue Helmets,
we will continue to work to solve them, particularly as
regards ensuring the mobility and safety of air operations
as well as the legal protection of peacekeepers and the
investigation of crimes committed against them.
Ukraine will make further significant practical
contributions aimed at making the world safer. To that
end, we will use all available instruments, especially
non-permanent membership in the Security Council if
our country is elected to that body for the period 2016-
2017. I count on support for the candidacy of Ukraine
in those elections.
Our country is fully committed to the collective
security system enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations. The system, which has proved indispensable,
will remain the foundation of the world order.
Ukraine upholds President Ashe’s decisive
determination to achieve long-expected practical
advances in the reform of the United Nations. We
believe that it is critically important to achieve early
progress in the modernization of the Security Council.
We have great concern about the present stagnancy of
the process.
I would like to confirm once again the readiness
of Ukraine to discuss all progressive concepts related
to Security Council reform that could accelerate the
implementation of the long-overdue changes. We
consider that such reform must take into account the
legitimate interests of all regional groups, including the
Eastern European group. The countries of our region
should be allocated one additional non-permanent seat
in an enlarged Security Council.
All preconditions have been met for the sixty-
eighth session of the General Assembly to go down in
history as one of the most fruitful in terms of the work
of the United Nations, a key political body that is the
most representative of all world organizations. I am
firmly convinced that the community of nations is up
to the task.