Madam President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the three Baltic states – Estonia, Lithuania, and my own country Latvia.
The Baltic states strongly condemn the unprovoked Russian aggression against Ukraine. Russia’s actions are in grave violation of international law, including the principles of the UN Charter. We urge Russia to immediately stop its military aggression and immediately and unconditionally withdraw all forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine. We also condemn the involvement of Belarus as Russia’s complicit in this aggression against Ukraine. We reaffirm our full support to Ukraine and its people.
Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has devastating effect on the people of Ukraine, in particular the most vulnerable. Ukrainian women and girls in particular have been the victims of the unseen barbarity that the Russian forces have unleashed on civilians in Ukraine.
We condemn the atrocities, the violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law violations, and the brutal attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure being perpetrated by the Russian Federation, including on maternity hospitals and other health-care facilities, schools, and shelters that have killed and gravely injured women and children in Ukraine, including pregnant women and new-born babies.
We condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities emerging from Bucha, the liberated areas around Kyiv and other regions, including rape of women and girls perpetrated by the Russian armed forces, as well as the latest bombing by the Russian Federation of the railway passenger station in Kramatorsk that claimed lives of more than 50 people, including 5 children and injuring scores of others, many of them critically.
Access to medicine and health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, is drastically reduced in those parts of Ukraine that are under attack and is acutely jeopardized in other parts of the country. The survivors of conflict-related sexual violence need comprehensive health care, including the reproductive health services as per Security Council Resolution 2467 and Resolution 2106.
Yet, the Ukrainian women are bravely and selflessly leading the efforts to help those in need, including children, elderly and wounded. They play a key role at the national and local level to coordinate resistance against Russian aggression. Many of them are taking up arms in defence of their country. We applaud the courage of the Ukrainian women.
Madam President,
Millions of people are displaced in Ukraine as a direct result of the war, and more than half of internally displaced people are women, according to the International Organization for Migration. Most of those who have fled the country, are women and children. People displaced within the country’s borders need urgent humanitarian assistance, a cessation of hostilities and safe passage, including through the creation of humanitarian corridors to allow those who wish to do so leave voluntarily to the destination of their choice and the humanitarian assistance to reach those who need it.
We are concerned about the reports of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, including children forcibly moved to “filtration camps” and then – to the territory of the Russian Federation, often without their parents. These are war crimes. We will make sure that all those responsible for these crimes will be held accountable. We will ensure that investigations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other violations of international humanitarian law and international criminal law perpetrated by the Russian military, including the investigation by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, fully encompass gender and intersectional dimensions of these crimes. These also need to guide the work of the Commission of Inquiry created by the UN Human Rights Council.
We underline the importance of continued UN monitoring, documenting and reporting on violations against civilians, including women and children, through its established mechanisms. We reiterate the importance of the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and its follow-up resolution, in particular resolutions 2106 and 2467 and their provisions regarding accountability for conflict-related sexual violence as well as services to the survivors.
Madam President,
The war in Ukraine has led to the displacement of 4.3 million children – more than half of the country’s 7.5 million child population. This includes more than 1.8 million children who have crossed into neighbouring countries as refugees and 2.5 million who are now internally displaced inside Ukraine. Children are killed, wounded, abducted, subjected to sexual violence and denied humanitarian assistance. Many of them have lost their parents or close relatives. Not only they have lost their childhood, they will carry a psychological trauma for the rest of their lives. We strongly condemn all violations against children.
We are gravely concerned about the exposure of children to different risks and crimes by the Russian armed forces against them and the deprivation from education in Ukraine. The attacks on schools and educational facilities and the need to flee their homes severely hinders this access. The ability to learn is seriously affected by acute and on-going exposure to conflict-related trauma and psychological stress leading to a risk of school dropout. In times of crisis, out-of-school children face heightened risk of abuse and exploitation, trafficking and gender-based violence. Education must be protected in line with Security Council resolution 2601.
We call on all relevant UN mechanisms, including the UN human rights special procedures, the Special Representatives of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and on Children and Armed Conflict, as well as OHCHR, UNFPA, UNHCR, UN Women and UNICEF to maintain their focus on the situation of women and children affected by the Russian aggression in Ukraine. We continue to support the work of these mechanisms as well as directly those caught in the war in Ukraine.
Thank you.