联合国大会就乌克兰局势举行特别会议
联合国大会就乌克兰局势举行会议
2022 年 2 月 23 和平与安全
联合国大会今天就“乌克兰暂时被占领土局势”举行全体会议。联大主席沙希德、秘书长古特雷斯以及近80个国家的代表在会上发言。
大会主席：给和平一个机会
联合国大会第76届会议主席沙希德表示，“欲免后世再遭战祸”是《联合国宪章》序言中的第一句话，也是人类在经历了两次世界大战的破坏后创建联合国的主要动机。《宪章》第一条明确规定了联合国的宗旨是“以和平方法且依正义及国际法之原则，调整或解决足以破坏和平之国际争端或情势”。
沙希德表示，如果说联合国过去76年的历史教会了我们什么，那就是持久和平不是通过军事接触实现或维持的，而是通过政治解决实现的。要减少人类的痛苦和冲突造成的巨大经济代价，最有效方法是防止冲突。
他说：“让我们利用我们拥有的工具来解决争端。让我们优先考虑外交、斡旋和调解。让我们给和平以应有的一切机会。”
他强调，对《联合国宪章》及其宗旨和原则的全面承诺是确保持久和平的唯一途径。他呼吁各方加紧谈判，通过对话缓和当前的局势。
沙希德在发言最后引用了联合国第二任秘书长达格·哈马舍尔德的话：“联合国不是为了把人类带入天堂，而是为了把人类从地狱中拯救出来”。
秘书长：乌克兰领土完整和主权不容侵犯
联合国秘书长古特雷斯在发言中再次重申，俄罗斯决定承认顿涅茨克和卢甘斯克地区某些地域的所谓“独立”及其后续行动侵犯了乌克兰的领土完整和主权，不符合《联合国宪章》的原则。
他表示，联合国大会在半个世纪前通过的里程碑式的《关于各国依联合国宪章建立友好关系及合作之国际法原则之宣言》强调了国家主权平等的原则，明确指出“国家之领土完整及政治独立不得侵犯”。
他说：“大会的其他决议也完全支持乌克兰在其国际公认边界内的主权、政治独立和领土完整。”
古特雷斯打比方说，安理会核准的《明斯克协议》在重症监护病房靠着一些生命维持设备存活下来。但现在，这些设备已经断开了连接。
他呼吁各方保持克制和理智，降低紧张局势，不要采取和发表会将这一危险局势推落悬崖的行动和言论。
他说：“现在是时候实现停火，回到对话和谈判的道路上来，把乌克兰和其他地区的人民从战祸中拯救出来了。我敦促所有各方充分利用《宪章》第33条及其各种和平解决争端的工具。”
古特雷斯同时表示，联合国正在继续通过人道主义行动和人权努力支持乌克兰人民。他敦促各方允许人道主义机构安全和畅通无阻地进入，包括在乌克兰东部非政府控制区。“各方必须履行国际人道主义法规定的义务”。
他再次重申，自己将全力以赴，提供斡旋，在不造成进一步流血的情况下解决这场危机。
乌克兰：阻止俄罗斯侵略，捍卫《联合国宪章》
乌克兰外交部长库列巴表示，欧洲正处于二战以来最严峻的安全危机之中。这场危机是由俄罗斯单方面制造的，而且局势正在升级。俄罗斯对乌克兰的指责是荒谬的。乌克兰从未威胁或袭击过任何人，也没有计划在顿巴斯发动任何军事进攻。
他强调，乌克兰现在加强防御的唯一原因是俄罗斯正在进行和计划中的军事和政治行动。“普京的行为和声明令人愤慨、骇人听闻，远远超出了威胁乌克兰的范围”。
他说：“我警告在座的每一个国家。如果普京决定他可以继续对乌克兰进行侵略，没有人能够坐视这场危机。你们的政府和人民将与我国政府和人民一起面临痛苦的后果。这就是为什么我们需要利用这个最后的行动机会，阻止普京。很明显，他不会自己停下来。”
库列巴表示，积极的外交、强有力的政治信息传递、严厉的经济制裁和加强乌克兰仍然可以迫使莫斯科放弃侵略性计划。“联合国的迅速而坚决的行动可以在这个历史性的黑暗时刻恢复该组织的领导作用”。
他说：“我们随时准备应对所有可能的情况，如果俄罗斯进一步进攻，我们准备保护我们的土地和人民。乌克兰将毫不犹豫地行使《联合国宪章》第51条规定的固有自卫权，以应对俄罗斯联邦的武装袭击。”
库列巴呼吁所有会员国阻止俄罗斯侵略，捍卫《联合国宪章》。
俄罗斯：不要让乌克兰进行新的军事冒险
俄罗斯常驻联合国代表涅边贾表示，今天开会的议程项目“暂时被占领的领土”这个名称有误，因为这次会议实际上是关于乌克兰“将厌世政策作为国家理念而失去的领土”。
他表示，基辅不愿意考虑广大民众的利益，乌克兰自2014年以来一直在与讲俄语的公民交战，并避免与顿巴斯地区直接对话，而整个国际社会却被其遵守《明斯克协议》的保证引入歧途。
他说：“基辅不需要顿巴斯人，只需要他们的土地。我们深信局势很绝望，决定顿巴斯人民可以理所当然地认为自己是独立的。”
涅边贾表示：“随着俄罗斯承认卢甘斯克人民共和国和顿涅茨克人民共和国，这场冲突远未结束。对两个共和国的和平街区的炮击并没有停止，基辅仍有武装，继续煽动和鼓励暴力。”
他警告说，应顿涅茨克和卢甘斯克的要求，俄罗斯的武装部队将对停火制度进行监督，其武装部队不会容忍违规者。
他说：“因此，我今天敦促你们集中精力安抚基辅，阻止它进行新的军事冒险，因为这可能使整个乌克兰付出沉重的代价。”
德国：捍卫国际秩序，反对单边侵略
德国外交部国务部长托拜厄斯·林德纳表示，俄罗斯违反了《联合国宪章》的核心原则。他说：“我们需要团结一致，强烈反对这种行动。如果不这样做，那么今天袭击乌克兰的事情明天就可能发生在其他联合国会员国身上。本大会的每个人都应该意识到这一点。”
他说：“我们是否尊重联合国会员国的领土完整和主权平等？我们是否遵守《联合国宪章》？我呼吁联合国所有会员国重申我们对这些原则的承诺——在乌克兰和其他地区。德国将与我们的盟友和伙伴一起，不遗余力地寻找外交途径。我们将坚定不移地支持乌克兰，支持《联合国宪章》。”
林德纳表示，现在是共同、果断地发声，捍卫《联合国宪章》和国际秩序，反对单边侵略的时候了。
美国：俄罗斯将承担全部责任
美国常驻联合国代表托马斯-格林菲尔德表示，俄罗斯的行为无端违反了国际法，侵犯了乌克兰的主权和领土完整，也直接违反了《明斯克协议》。俄罗斯的侵略不仅威胁到整个乌克兰，而且威胁到每个成员国和联合国本身。
她说：“俄罗斯的行动只是证实了我们和其他国家一直在警告的事情。其他联合国成员国必须认识到今天摆在我们面前的威胁，否则就太晚了。各位同事，这里没有中间立场。呼吁双方缓和局势只会给俄罗斯一个通行证。在这里，俄罗斯是侵略者。现在是2022年。我们不会回到帝国和殖民时代，也不会回到苏联时代。”
托马斯-格林菲尔德表示，俄罗斯的行为颠覆了国际体系，嘲弄了《联合国宪章》，质疑了最基本的主权、外交和领土完整原则。
她说：“尽管我们都希望俄罗斯缓和局势并选择和平的道路，但这不是我们可以选择的。这是普京总统选择的战争。如果他选择进一步升级，俄罗斯，也只有俄罗斯将对即将发生的事情承担全部责任。”
英国：以团结和力量应对俄罗斯侵略
英国英联邦、联合国及南亚事务部长艾哈迈德勋爵表示，普京总统决定承认所谓的“顿涅茨克人民共和国”和“卢甘斯克人民共和国”为独立国家，毫无疑问地证明了俄罗斯选择了对抗的道路而不是外交和对话的道路。
他表示，国际社会必须作出反应。“至关重要的是，我们必须以团结和力量来应对俄罗斯的侵略行为，包括协调制裁，使俄罗斯的利益和他们的经济付出严重代价”。
他说：“我们必须一起明确谴责这种侵略行为，阻止普京总统的扩张主义野心。我们必须让俄罗斯遵守其在《联合国宪章》下的承诺，并对俄罗斯说，撤退吧，选择和平，而不是战争。同时也向乌克兰人民发出一个明确的信息，在你们需要的时候，我们国际社会，我们联合国，与你们站在一起。”
法国：强烈谴责俄罗斯的行径
法国常驻联合国代表尼古拉·德里维埃表示，法国强烈谴责俄罗斯单方面承认乌克兰东部分离主义地区的独立，并谴责在这些领土上部署俄罗斯军队的决定。这是对国际法的违反，是对乌克兰主权和领土完整的侵犯，不符合《联合国宪章》的规定。
他表示，尽管在过去几周和几天里，马克龙总统与肖尔茨总理一起为缓和局势做出了不懈的努力，但俄罗斯还是选择了破坏稳定和对抗的道路。
德里维埃表示，法国及其欧盟伙伴正在采取必要的措施，特别是针对资助俄罗斯在这些领土上的军事行动的银行，并防止这些银行与分离主义实体的贸易。
他说：“面对俄罗斯选择的破坏稳定和对抗的战略，我们呼吁国际社会作出一致的反应，捍卫《联合国宪章》的基本原则。”
中国：鼓励一切致力于推动外交解决的努力
中国常驻联合国代表张军表示，中方对乌克兰局势演变表示关注。中国关于维护各国主权和领土完整的立场是一贯的，《联合国宪章》的宗旨和原则也应当得到共同维护。
他说：“同时我们注意到，乌克兰问题有着复杂的历史经纬和现实因素，演变至今是一系列因素共同作用的结果。当前形势下，有关各方都要保持克制，避免任何可能加剧紧张局势的行动。”
张军表示，中方呼吁各方认识到落实安全不可分割原则的重要性，继续开展对话协商，在平等和相互尊重的基础上，通过和平方式寻求解决彼此关切的合理方案。“我们欢迎并鼓励一切致力于推动外交解决的努力”。
At dedicated Assembly session on Ukraine, UN chief calls for ‘restraint, reason and de-escalation’
23 February 2022 Peace and Security
The world is facing “a moment of peril,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told a General Assembly session on Wednesday dedicated to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
© UNICEF/Ashley Gilbertson
A woman stands in an abandoned school, damaged after a shell strike, in Krasnohorivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (file)
“It is time for restraint, reason and de-escalation. There is no place for actions and statements that would take this dangerous situation over the abyss”, he said, calling for a ceasefire, dialogue and negotiations to save the people in Ukraine and beyond from the scourge of war.
He also encouraged all parties to make full use of Article 33 of the UN Charter and its “diverse instruments of pacific settlement of disputes”.
‘Grave concern’
The Secretary-General described the latest developments as “a cause of grave concern”, including reports of increased ceasefire violations across the contact line and “the real risk of further escalation on the ground”.
While acknowledging that the history of the conflict is complex, he underscored that in the present situation one thing is clear: “The decision of the Russian Federation to recognize the so-called ‘independence’ of Donetsk and Luhansk regions – and the follow-up – are violations of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and inconsistent with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations”.
Sovereign equality of States
Mr. Guterres emphasized that Russia’s actions are also inconsistent with the Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations – a landmark resolution adopted by the Assembly more than half a century ago.
The so-called Friendly Relations Declaration sets out several vital principles that are “highly relevant” to today’s session, he reminded the Member States.
The UN chief highlighted the principle of sovereign equality of States, affirming that their territorial integrity and political independence are inviolable.
“Other General Assembly resolutions are also fully behind the sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders”, he said.
Minsk Agreements
The UN chief continued by describing the Minsk Agreements – the fragile peace process regulating the conflict in eastern Ukraine – as surviving “in an intensive care unit thanks to a number of life support devices.”
“But now those devices have been disconnected”, he stated.
Mr. Guterres also flagged the need to preserve the integrity of peacekeeping, which he spelled out only takes place “with the consent of the host country”.
Consistent humanitarian commitment
Through its human rights and humanitarian work, the Organization continues to support the Ukrainian people.
“Our Human Rights Monitoring Mission has seven offices throughout the country – on both sides of the contact line – documenting civilian casualties, monitoring freedom of movement, and reporting on allegations of human rights violations”, the top UN Official reminded the Assembly.
Flagging that UN humanitarian operations are “independent of whoever might control the territory where people are living”, he pointed out that even before this latest escalation, two million Ukrainians had needed humanitarian assistance.
“Since the start of 2022 alone, we and our partners have delivered 140 metric tons of life-saving aid across the contact line”, he said.
UN humanitarian assistance is guided by the four principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence – all central to establishing and maintaining access to affected people, including those in the context of an armed conflict.
“Our humanitarian agencies are committed to staying and delivering to support the people in Ukraine, and are ready to adjust and reprioritize their operations as necessary”, he attested.
Relentless search for peace
Noting that during conflict, civilians, including women and children, always suffer first and most, the UN chief warned that if the conflict in Ukraine expands, “the world could see a scale and severity of need unseen for many years”.
“I urge all sides to allow safe and unimpeded access by humanitarian agencies, including in non-Government controlled areas of eastern Ukraine,” he said, urging all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law.
In closing, the Secretary-General reiterated his full commitment to supporting all efforts to “resolve this crisis without further bloodshed”, offering his good offices.
“We cannot and will not relent in the search for a peaceful solution”, he said.
Give peace a chance
Assembly President Abdulla Shahid told the participants that if the last 76 years of the UN’s existence has taught us anything, it is that that “lasting peace is not achieved nor sustained by military engagements, but through political solutions.”
He urged the Member States to “deploy the tools that we have to resolve disputes…give priority to diplomacy, good offices and mediation… [and] give peace all the chance it deserves”.
“I call on the parties to intensify their negotiations and deescalate the current trajectory through dialogue”, underscored Mr. Shahid.
‘More than hope’ needed
Meanwhile, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that while hope for peace, common sense, and diplomacy dominate Ukrainian mindsets, “today we need much more than hope”.
“We need swift, concrete and resolute actions” relevant to the threat level of “Russia’s aggressive course,” he stated on behalf of more than 40 million Ukrainians who wish is to live in peace and prosperity, “not in fear, intimidation, not under Russian fire, bombs and shelling.”
UN Photo/Evan Schneider
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine addresses the UN General Assembly on the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
Largest European security crisis since WWII
Unlike the Second World War, Mr. Kuleba pointed out that the current crisis was created by one side unilaterally: Russia.
The Foreign Minister attested that Russian President Vladmir Putin “overtly denied Ukraine’s right to exist”, saying that “we all need to admit the grim reality of a new aggressive and revanchist dictatorship rising over Europe”.
He asserted that Russia has attacked the UN’s fundamental principles of international peace and security and “the very existence of the Ukrainian State”.
“What is happening right now in the Eastern Ukraine, where Russian tanks are rolling in, and along the Ukrainian borders, where Russian forces are amassed in enormous quantities, must be a concern for everyone,” Mr. Kuleba said.
“I warn every nation…no one will be able to sit out this crisis if Putin decides that he can move forward with his aggression against Ukraine…[which] is why we need to use this last chance for action and stop Putin where he is. It is clear that he will not stop by himself”.
Offenses on the table
The Ukrainian official asserted that Russia’s “propaganda machine is in full swing”, creating a pretext for further aggression against his country.
“Russia has literally stuffed the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov with 46 military vessels…routinely closes large parts of the seas under the pretext of holding naval exercises [which] amounts almost to a blockade of Ukrainian seaports…and continues to block the release of illegally detained persons.”
And as the occupying power in Crimea, he upheld that Russia persists in destroying the identity of Ukrainians and the indigenous Crimean Tatars, insisting that the situation there remains open and that Ukraine continues efforts to de-occupy Crimea “by peaceful means.”
Ukraine owed protection
Reminding that Ukraine denuclearized in 1994, giving up the world's third largest nuclear arsenal, he said: “The world owes Ukraine its security”.
“We expect the international community to do their best to put out the fire in the centere of Europe, which is about to flare up”, he added.
“Russia must withdraw its forces from the sovereign territory of Ukraine and stop destabilizing the international security situation.”
UN Photo/Evan Schneider
Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia of Russia addresses the UN General Assembly on the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
Russia takes the podium
Meanwhile, Russia’s UN Ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, started his speech with “a clarification” that the name “temporarily occupied territories” was incorrect as the meeting is actually about “the territories lost as a result of misanthropic politics” of Ukraine.
He went on to say that with Russia’s recognition of “the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), this conflict is far from over”.
Mr. Nebenzya said that the shelling of peaceful quarters of both have not stopped and that Kiev remains armed and continues to incite and encouraged violence.
He warned that at the request of Donetsk and Lugansk, Russia will continue to monitor the regime ceasefire and that its armed forces will not tolerate violators.
“Therefore, I urge you today to focus your efforts on calming down Kiev and keeping it from new military adventures that could cost the whole of Ukraine dearly.” the Ambassador said.