Ukraine - UN Security Council on Cluster Munitions and Peace & Security | United Nations (full)

Threats to international peace and security - Security Council, 9533rd meeting This video is available in multiple languages. Click the settings ⚙️ button to change the language track. During a Security Council meeting on Ukraine, a top UN official for Disarmament said, “reports related to the transfer and use of cluster munitions throughout the conflict are very concerning.” Speaking at a Security Council today (22 Jan), Adedeji Ebo, Deputy to the High Representative of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) said, “the Secretary-General has repeatedly called for an immediate end to the use of cluster munitions.” He added, “In line with his long-standing position, these weapons must be rendered inoperable and consigned to history. In addition, mines and explosive remnants of war have resulted in widespread land contamination rendering land unusable for agriculture, while impeding the movement of people in Ukraine.” Ebo said, “from 24 February 2022 to 21 January 2024, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has verified 29,731 civilian casualties in Ukraine, with 10,287 killed and 19,444 injured.” He added, “the actual figures are likely to be considerably higher.” Ebo stressed, “Let me say it again: attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international law. All such attacks must stop immediately.” Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs told Council members, “The long pumping by weapons of the corrupt Zelenskyy regime has one more dangerous aspect - the desire to get maximum benefit from the conflict because Kyiv authorities are simply reselling some of Western weapons on the black market.” He said, “the highest echelons of the United States went even as so far as to say that Russia would attack Poland, the Baltic States, Finland after that. There was a lot of things that you can think of if you want to get money out of Congress and European Parliament’s so when you convince them of the need to continue supporting Ukraine to the detriment of their nationals down to the very last dollar and euro asking Russia to stop this special military operation.” US Ambassador Robert Wood said, “It is cynicism of the highest order to claim that legitimate and lawful support for Ukraine’s self-defense is prolonging Russia’s war of aggression. It bears repeating: there are hundreds of thousands of Russian troops in Ukraine’s internationally-recognized territory.” He stressed, “there is not a single Ukrainian soldier on Russian soil.” Wood also noted, “Last year, the United States brought to light clear evidence of Iran’s unlawful transfers of armed Iranian UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicle] to Russia, despite restrictions in place at the time of this acquisition under Resolution 2231. These unlawful arms transfers and potential technology transfers from Russia to the DPRK undermine regional stability and the global nonproliferation regime.” He concluded, “This Council must hold to account any country that undermines its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions.” Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukrainian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said, “the statistics of victims have decreased because most of Russian missiles do not achieve the targets. Solely due to the bolstered air defense provided by our allies.” He continued, “this is what literally saves our children, alongside evacuation measures implemented by Ukrainian authorities to protect residents in the most dangerous areas.” Ahead the meeting, Kyslytsya, on behalf of the governments of Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Korea, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union, addressed reporters. He said, “we underscore the hypocrisy of the Russian Federation calling yet another UN Security Council meeting to criticize lawful arms transfers to Ukraine that are done in support of Ukraine’s inherent right of self-defense, as reflected in Article 51 of the UN Charter.” Kyslytsya added, “this meeting today is another attempt by the Russian Federation to distract from its war of aggression against Ukraine and its intensified campaign of systematic air strikes killing civilians and destroying critical infrastructure.” ------- Screenshot Credit: Sergiy Kyslytsya, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, addresses the Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security. UN Photo/Evan Schneider