Ukraine, 1995

I should like first of all to

congratulate the President of the General Assembly,

Mr. Freitas do Amaral, on his election to that high position.

To guide the proceedings of the most representative organ

of the United Nations in its jubilee year is a great privilege

for a politician and diplomat, as well as for the country that

he represents. We hope that his vision of the future of the

Organization, contained in his opening remarks, will find

support among Member States.

The delegation of Ukraine also expresses its gratitude

to Mr. Amara Essy for successfully guiding the General

Assembly at its last session. Many years of close

cooperation have bonded me with Minister Essy, whom I

highly respect for his diplomatic and human qualities.

In the historical calendar there are dates that can never

be forgotten. The year 1945 is one such memorable time.

Recently, we all commemorated together the fiftieth

anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The

calendar of international life is for ever interwoven with the

half-century history of the United Nations.

In paying tribute to the founders of the United

Nations, Ukraine among them, our delegation would like

to note the leading role of President Franklin Delano

Roosevelt — one of the initiators of the creation of the

universal Organization and the author of its very name —

the United Nations. We are confident that the United

Nations can work out an appropriate way in which to pay

respect to this outstanding person.

During the past half century the United Nations, as

no other international organization, has acquired

credibility as a reliable instrument for maintaining peace,

as a mediator and active participant in the peaceful

settlement of conflicts, and as a champion of human

rights. The United Nations has played a decisive role in

the decolonization and self-determination of peoples. The

United Nations has proved its viability, having

experienced the difficult decades of the cold war, when

the walls and the rostrum of its Headquarters often

witnessed the struggle of two opposing blocs. Ukraine —

whose institutions of statehood were developing along

with the United Nations and were fully established after

the proclamation of independence in 1991 — feels the

considerable support of the United Nations as well.

Witness the dramatic events of the past quarter of

the twentieth century, the pinnacle of the philosophic

triangle of “peace-development-democracy” is peace. And

the most illustrative example of this is the tragic conflict

in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. This conflict, by

its very nature, is due to all possible reasons: militant

separatism, ethnic confrontation, religious intolerance. The

most dangerous thing is the fact that, in terms of its scale,

developments and tragic consequences, this conflict has

turned into a real threat to international peace and

security. I think that for all of us, Members of the United

Nations, the painful fact is that we are compelled again

and again to return to this issue, even during the jubilee

fiftieth session of the General Assembly.

United Nations peace-keeping operations in this

region have revealed both positive and negative aspects of

international efforts. The Yugoslav example demonstrates,

in general, that rethinking the role of the United Nations

and adapting the role to current realities are proceeding

very slowly. Sometimes it seems as if the Organization is

continuing to live by the inertia of the old mentality,

which does not allow it to use its potential effectively and

makes it appeal to other organizations for help. Besides,

we consider that most of the problems the United Nations

is facing in the former Yugoslavia are rooted in the non-

12

observance of at least a number of the major established

principles of peace-keeping.

In particular, this may apply to the principle of

impartiality. Thus, a review of the discussions in the

Security Council and the activities of the Contact Group

does not, unfortunately, give a sufficient basis for talking

about real political impartiality in the positions of some of

their members in regard to all parties to the post-Yugoslav

conflict. As a result, international public opinion bases itself

on a policy of dual standards and biased assessments and

decisions, and this does not enhance the credibility of our

Organization.

It is universally recognized that success in the final

settlement of any conflict depends on the will of the

belligerents and their readiness to engage in a dialogue and

international mediation. At the same time, the consent of

the conflicting parties to facilitate United Nations peace-

keeping efforts was not always given. The taking of peace-

keepers hostage by parties to the conflict in the former

Yugoslavia makes us think seriously of the need to

establish a comprehensive mechanism for the use of force

and to enhance the protection of United Nations peace-

keeping personnel. In this connection, Ukraine, which

initiated the elaboration of the Convention on the Safety of

United Nations and Associated Personnel, calls upon all

countries to expedite the ratification of this document.

At the same time, in spite of all the unprecedented

difficulties and some miscalculations in conducting United

Nations peace-keeping operations in the former Yugoslavia,

we find it necessary to keep United Nations forces there.

Accordingly, we should continue to seek means to bring

about a peaceful settlement of the conflict. It seems that

today everyone agrees that there is no alternative to a

political settlement. We welcome efforts in that direction,

particularly the recent intensification of relevant activities

by the United States. We also believe that Russia can play

a greater and constructive role in a peaceful settlement. For

its part, Ukraine, as a major contributor to the United

Nations Protection Force, is ready to continue its

cooperation with the United Nations in this field. I would

like to confirm that Kiev is ready, if necessary, to host a

meeting of the leaders of the parties to the conflict with the

participation of all the countries and international

organizations concerned. The President of Ukraine, Leonid

Kuchma, has sent letters with appropriate proposals to the

leaders of Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The process of settling the Yugoslav conflict could, in

our opinion, be intensified by expanding the composition of

the Contact Group and studying new approaches. As an

example to follow, we note the international meeting on

Bosnia held on 21 July in London, in which the

delegation of Ukraine also took part.

While highly appreciating the considerable personal

contribution of Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali

to the philosophy of peace-keeping, we consider that new

approaches in this field require further practical

development, in particular the principle of utilizing the

rapid reaction force, which has already been quite actively

involved in the former Yugoslavia.

The question of implementing the idea of

establishing a United Nations stand-by force, in which

Ukraine is ready to participate, is still outstanding.

We consider preventive diplomacy, which has

demonstrated its potential in the former Yugoslav

Republic of Macedonia, to be one of the priority trends in

the development of United Nations peace-keeping

activities. In this context we are again proposing

consideration of the establishment within the United

Nations, and specifically within the Office of the

Secretary-General, of a standing council of international

mediators, whose membership would include

internationally recognized and authoritative political

figures.

Economic sanctions continue to be an important

instrument in United Nations conflict-settlement activities.

In this field, we believe it is necessary to elaborate a

comprehensive and detailed mechanism for the

implementation of sanctions which would also take into

consideration all their potential consequences, including

the negative impact on third countries. In our opinion, it

has now been demonstrated that the embargo regime

against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is

counterproductive and has not attained the main objective

of promoting peaceful settlement of the conflict. Ukraine

considers that, along with the process of further political

settlement, the Security Council should lift economic

sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,

which, in real terms, has already demonstrated its

willingness to assist in the restoration of peace. At the

same time, we proceed from the premise that mutual and

simultaneous recognition of the States that emerged in the

territory of the former Yugoslavia should be an important

condition for the lifting of sanctions.

The principle that no single State or regional

organization can be granted the right to be the main

13

guarantor of peace and security in one region or another

should continue to be a cornerstone of United Nations

conflict-prevention and crisis-management activities.

Among the international community’s undertakings in

the past year we could list many important achievements

which have become our common gains. Today, in

Washington, the ceremony for the signing of the Israeli-

Palestinian agreement is taking place, and we want to

congratulate sincerely both parties and all those who

contributed to this achievement.

I would also like to dwell on one accomplishment

which has significance for our country. The Conference on

the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

(NPT) was undoubtedly the main event since the last

session in the field of arms control and disarmament. It is

symbolic that this Conference took place within these walls.

Its decision on the indefinite extension of the Treaty is

really a historic achievement. I do not think it would be

going too far to say that Ukraine’s accession to the NPT as

a non-nuclear weapon State, and our ratification of the

START-1 Treaty and its entry into force played a

substantive role in making this event a reality. Thus,

Ukraine made its tangible contribution to the global

cause — freeing mankind from the most dangerous

weapons of mass destruction. The voluntary renunciation by

the third largest nuclear State of this monster of the

twentieth century is unprecedented.

The NPT is undoubtedly a key treaty among all the

existing treaties on arms control and disarmament, since it

provides an opportunity to consistently coordinate policies

in the field of nuclear disarmament, allowing non-nuclear

States to conduct a dialogue as equals with nuclear States.

At the same time, I would like to emphasize that in

Ukraine’s opinion, in spite of the record-breaking number

of NPT participants — 179 countries — we cannot regard

a situation as stable when States that build their security on

the possession of nuclear weapons and States that have

never had or have renounced them exist alongside each

other.

In this connection, Ukraine attaches great importance

to the negotiations on a comprehensive nuclear test-ban

treaty. Unfortunately, the world community has not

managed to mark the UN’s fiftieth anniversary of the

United Nations by concluding this treaty, but we share the

hopes that the relevant talks will be successfully completed

no later than 1996. In this context the necessity for all

countries to observe the moratorium on nuclear tests is of

special importance. Recent nuclear tests have aroused

justifiable concern in the world. Such actions are not

conducive to enhancing the favourable international

climate that emerged after the end of the cold war.

The huge existing arsenals of conventional weapons

and the danger they constitute for mankind put these

weapons on a par with weapons of mass destruction and

require the same close attention. As of today, Ukraine is

fulfilling its obligations under the Treaty on Conventional

Armed Forces in Europe. To support the initiative

advanced by the General Assembly, the Government of

Ukraine has declared a moratorium on the export of anti-

personnel mines.

The course of the development of history has vividly

demonstrated the interconnection and interdependence

between the safeguarding of peace and security and

economic and social development. In spite of significant

achievements in this field, the present-day picture of the

world is far from being ideal. Problems of unemployment,

underdevelopment, poverty, social disintegration and

isolation require urgent solutions. These problems are

especially acute for economies in transition that are

carrying out fundamental reforms.

Ukraine, which inherited a heavy burden of problems

from the former USSR, is undergoing a painful period of

radical political and economic transformation. Having laid

the basic foundations of a democratic political system and

civil society over the past four years, Ukraine has entered

a new stage of development. Last October, the President

of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, proclaimed a new economic

policy based on the implementation of fundamental

economic reform. Now, our main efforts are aimed at the

further strengthening of democratic foundations, the

creation of a socially oriented market economy, and the

implementation of an open, predictable and consistent

foreign policy. The reform of the State system of division

of power is continuing. In contrast to most post-Soviet

countries, we managed, without violent confrontation, to

find a way out of the constitutional impasse. The

important stage is ahead, namely the final drafting and the

adoption of a new Constitution of Ukraine. A diversified

system of external economic relations is being gradually

established. The process of integrating the national

economy into the world economic space is being

intensified.

At the same time, the Ukrainian economy continues

to suffer from a crisis phenomenon. Having charted a

course toward market reform and its rapid

implementation, Ukraine must seek its own national

14

model of market transformation. Today the establishment of

an effective system of social protection is the Government’s

principal and most topical task.

The most important priority for President Kuchma and

the Government of Ukraine continues to be the preservation

of civil peace and inter-ethnic harmony in the country. In

its four years of independence, Ukraine has managed to

settle confrontational situations by peaceful political means.

Ukraine’s achievements in the field of securing the rights

of national minorities are especially evident against the

background of the numerous conflicts that unfortunately

continue to be a reality in the territory of the former Soviet

Union.

Ukraine’s national legislation in this sphere has earned

it high international marks, specifically from such

authoritative organizations as the Council of Europe, of

which Ukraine hopes to become a member this year. But,

at the same time, we have problems in this sphere,

particularly with regard to repatriating the deported Crimean

Tatar people and representatives of other nationalities.

The Government of Ukraine has developed a large-

scale national programme aimed at safeguarding the rights

of national minorities and indigenous peoples and has

established a fund for the deported peoples of Crimea. But

for Ukraine, which faces conditions of economic crisis and

a complicated financial situation and lacks the necessary

infrastructure, services and mechanisms, the task of

accommodating the hundreds of thousands of repatriated

persons appears too complicated. Solving these problems

requires a complex approach: the mobilization and

consolidation of efforts at the national, regional and broader

international levels.

In its international activities, Ukraine proceeds from

the premise that stable development is a guarantor of

lasting peace.

At present, when economic reforms in Ukraine are

gaining momentum, we are especially interested in the

widening of the activities of the United Nations and of its

specialized agencies in the social and economic fields,

aimed at establishing conditions for the integration of the

Ukrainian economy and other economies in transition into

the world economic space. The United Nations is an

important instrument for promoting this process, and we

appreciate the fact that the Members of this Organization

show a deep understanding of the problems of countries in

transition, including Ukraine.

We believe that creating internal preconditions for

Ukraine’s steady and gradual development has an

international dimension as well. Ukraine’s geo-political

situation transforms its efforts to build an economically

viable State into an important factor in promoting

guaranteed peace, stability and security — including in

the field of ecology — on the European continent.

It was this deep understanding of global

interdependence that dictated, in particular, the political

decision of President Kuchma to decommission the

Chernobyl nuclear-power plant by the year 2000. Next

year marks the tenth anniversary of the Chernobyl

catastrophe, which not only left deep scars on the lives of

the present generation of Ukrainians, Belarussians and

Russians, but also has a global perspective. We propose

to declare 1996 the Year of the Commemoration of

Chernobyl and to organize special activities under the

auspices of the United Nations. On the eve of this tragic

anniversary, I should like once again to emphasize that

nuclear-safety problems and the decommissioning of

malfunctioning and outdated industrial nuclear facilities

are critical, and not only for Ukraine. We are convinced

that the time has come for a practical solution to the

entire series of issues related to the accident, especially in

view of the long-term nature of its aftermath. The sooner

we invest money in the solution of this problem, the

sooner we will be able to overcome it, with fewer

negative consequences for humanity. We expect that the

international community’s support of Ukraine’s efforts

will be directed not only at the decommissioning of the

Chernobyl power plant but also at solving the whole

cluster of associated economic, social and ecological

problems. In particular, we would welcome wide

international participation in establishing an international

scientific-technological centre in Chernobyl.

At the same time, I should like to emphasize that

Ukraine retains a sense of realism with regard to the

capacity of the United Nations to solve our national

problems. We do not aim to compete with the less

developed countries for the limited resources of the

United Nations development system. We are ready and

willing to cooperate with all interested partners, and we

rely on the purposeful activity of the international

community aimed at creating favourable conditions for

expanding the access of Ukrainian exports to the world

market. We expect that the World Trade Organization,

which Ukraine is ready to join, will play an important

role in the expansion and diversification of international

trade and economic relations.

15

Recently the financial problems of the United Nations

have had an acute political resonance. There can be only

one conclusion: the existing financial system is incapable of

guaranteeing the effective functioning of the Organization

in the current situation and requires substantial reform.

We fully understand that the financial crisis of the

United Nations has been provoked not only by political and

economic circumstances but also by the imperfect system

of apportionment of expenses, which is based on outdated

principles. Ukraine will actively support the adoption of

progressive changes to the methods of determining the scale

of assessments and the special scheme of expenses for

financing United Nations peace-keeping operations, with the

aim of reflecting the principle of capacity to pay.

Ukraine’s full participation in United Nations activities

is impeded by its excessive contribution and its existing

debt for financing United Nations peace-keeping operations.

The State, which for the benefit of the world community

has taken political decisions to voluntarily renounce nuclear

weapons and decommission the Chernobyl power plant,

should be able to concentrate its resources primarily on the

implementation of those decisions. Ukraine, whose

economy is undergoing an extremely difficult

transformation and which is also suffering economic losses

in the billions as a result of its strict compliance with the

sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, can

by no means continue to be held hostage to the settlement

of the financial problems of the United Nations.

The world is changing. The cold-war confrontation

between blocs, as well as bloc discipline, has become

history. The interdependence of States at the regional and

global levels is increasing. Given the nature of modern

international problems, we should be ready to face the

challenges of the new era. We need a strong and effective

United Nations. Its renovation should encompass both the

structure itself and the character of its activities, in

accordance with the requirements of the new epoch. In our

opinion, a number of measures should be taken to

democratize the Security Council’s activity, in particular to

increase the legitimacy of its decisions and the transparency

of its work.

On the whole, Ukraine supports the activity of the

Open-ended Working Group on the reform of the Security

Council and hopes that the interests of all regional groups,

including, I should like to emphasize, the Group of Eastern

European States, will be taken into consideration during the

reform process. Ukraine also supports the proposals related

to the improvement of the activities of the Economic and

Social Council. It stands for a reduction of the staff and

the enhancement of the efficiency of the activities of the

Secretariat, and for a reduction in the number of items on

the agenda of the General Assembly.

In conclusion, I should like to paraphrase a point of

common wisdom: when you criticize the reflection in the

mirror, you are criticizing yourself. The United Nations

needs renovation — so we need to renovate ourselves.

This Organization will not become more effective and

instrumental unless its Members show enough eagerness

for practical efforts. I would not want this Assembly in

the twenty-first century to listen again to wishful thinking

that is not backed by our political will and readiness to

work hard.