UN Watch Statement
ID on HC Ukraine Report, Agenda Item 10
24 September 2014
Delivered by Minyoung Kwon
Thank you, Mr. President.
UN Watch is deeply concerned with the escalating situation in Ukraine. It is deplorable that more than 3,000 people have been killed, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.
Moreover, as described in the latest report by the Office of the High Commissioner, in Ukraine there have been repeated human rights violations against civilians, including women and children, and journalists.
UN Watch believes the voices of victims need to be heard. That’s why we brought Iryna Dovgan to testify here last week. As you will recall, Iryna is a Ukrainian woman who was beaten, tortured, and publicly humiliated by the pro-Russian militias. This is a single case out of many violations that have taken place in a region plagued with violence.
Mr. President, UN Watch calls upon Russia to withdraw its forces, respect the sovereignty of its neighbors, and end support for armed groups. Russia cannot simply be allowed to invade its neighbors and violate borders with impunity.
We call upon the United Nations to continue to monitor closely the situation of human rights in Ukraine. We call upon all sides to respect international human rights and international humanitarian law.
We cannot agree that the Ukrainian conflict is an internal or domestic matter, as President Putin has put it. The downing of Malaysian Flight MH17, for example, has opened up this conflict far beyond the immediate borders. It is time for the international community to take concrete measures to bring this violence to an end.
I thank you, Mr. President.
