Ukraine, 2013

First of all,

on behalf of Ukraine, I sincerely congratulate Mr. John

William Ashe on his election to serve as President of

the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. I wish

him success and fruitful work as he discharges this

important role.

The theme of the present session, “The post-2015

development agenda: setting the stage”, is undoubtedly

important for every Member State. The deadline for

achieving the Millennium Development Goals is fast

approaching, and the task of producing the ambitious

post-2015 action plan is becoming ever more urgent

for the international community. I am glad that

practical work on implementing that task has already

been launched. Its current intensity is confirmed by

two important events: the General Assembly special

event to follow up efforts made towards achieving the

Millennium Development Goals and the inaugural

meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable

Development.

I am convinced that the actions planned by the

President of the General Assembly will allow for

substantial acceleration during the sixty-eighth session

of the work on elaboration of development goals for the

upcoming period. We consider the innovative national

consultations mechanisms, which are being successfully

applied in the case of Ukraine, an important element

of this work. Ukraine stands ready to be engaged fully

and with maximum efficiency in these developments,

which are extremely important for the international

community.

The topic of sustainable energy as an item of the

post-2015 agenda is of particular significance to us. A

new, inclusive approach to that issue must ensure the

comprehensive consideration of security, social and

environmental aspects. Only such an approach will

facilitate sustainable development of energy, especially

as regards the efficiency and safety of the nuclear

sector. That objective would be favoured by the further

development of and joint action on the implementation

of the outcomes of Kyiv Summit on the Safe and

Innovative Use of Nuclear Energy, which was held in

April 2011.

Ukraine, which experienced the worst nuclear

accident in the history of humankind, is well aware of

the priority importance of issues of ecological safety,

the comprehensive conservation of the environment

and prudent management of water resources. We

encourage Member States to intensify international

interaction in this field as part of their observation of

the International Year of Water Cooperation and the

twentieth anniversary of World Water Day.

Ukraine will continue to diligently do its part

to achieve the Millennium Development Goals at

the national level. We are eager to establish positive

momentum on many key national development

indicators. These indicators include poverty alleviation,

quality education, environmental conservation,

maternal health improvement and child mortality

reduction, among others. The leading catalyst for

Ukraine’s progress towards the Goals is the reform

programme, which is the largest such programme in

the recent history of our country, aimed at both social

and economic transformations as well as the further

strengthening of the democratic system and the rule of

law. The fundamental basis for internal transformation

in Ukraine will continue to be supremacy of the

principle of social justice.

We also view Ukraine’s European integration

aspirations in the light of sustainable development.

These aspirations are a determining vector for the

country’s development. Ukraine makes its contribution

to the greater European project, which unites the

interests and development goals of the countries of the

West to those of the East of our continent. I strongly

believe that the signing in November of the Association

Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union,

including the creation of a Deep and Comprehensive

Free Trade Area, will be an important tool in raising

the welfare of Ukrainian citizens and will duly assist

our country in achieving the Millennium Development

Goals.

It has long been broadly agreed that sustainable

development is impossible without efficient international

security. Conversely, lasting peace is impossible

without sustainable development. Events since last

year’s debate have clearly shown the inconsistency

and instability of the world today. It is a world that,

despite our common efforts, has not embarked on a

more even and reliable trajectory of universal peace.

On the contrary, according to the Global Peace Index,

our world has become less safe than it was five years

ago.

One of the most painful security problems of today

is the civil conflict in Syria, which, unfortunately, is

increasingly crossing borders and becoming the source

of threats on a regional scale. There is no justification

for bloodshed and suffering of the civilian population,

including women and children, more than 1.5 million

refugees and internally displaced persons, and tens

of thousands of foreign citizens who have found

themselves in danger. We must do everything in our

power to allay the pain and to contain and heal the open

wound of his conflict as soon as possible.

In our joint actions to settle the conflict, we have

to rely on humanistic values, sobriety, competence and

mutual responsibility. Ukraine has extended its helping

hand to the Syrian population by rendering assistance

through United Nations mechanisms. Today, we urge

the entire international community to take part in that

humanitarian mission.

We welcome the plan produced by Russia and

the United States to place the Syrian stockpiles of

chemical weapons under the control of the international

community for their subsequent destruction. At the

same time, Ukraine is convinced that the successful

implementation of that plan would give hope for that

conflict to be brought under control and leave space for a

political and diplomatic settlement. It is time to promote

the establishment of as wide a platform as possible so as

to reach, through multilateral negotiations, a political

solution that will make it possible to restore peace and

stability in Syria.

With respect to pressing problems in the context

of contemporary international security, I would like to

draw attention to the issue of cybersecurity, which is

becoming increasingly important given the development

of the information society. Ukraine attaches great

significance to that issue as well as to the development

of up-to-date mechanisms to combat cybercrimes.

We believe that we should focus on strengthening

control over the use of the Internet and cyberspace for

criminal purposes and for other dangerous, primarily

military ends. I am convinced that this process should

be led by the United Nations. The United Nations is

the best instrument for transforming the Internet into a

space of freedom that works in the interests and to the

benefit of all nations throughout the world.

I believe that it is within our power to make the world

safer. The ideals of peace and the peaceful coexistence

of nations are not hollow words for Ukraine but a clear

guideline that has informed all of our actions on the

international stage since we became independent. That

imperative is at the heart of every step and initiative

taken by our country in the world arena. The fact

that this year Ukraine holds the chairmanship of the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(OSCE) — the largest international regional forum — is

a vivid example of that commitment. It is an honour

for us, and we view our responsible mission primarily

as a mechanism for the consolidation of security and

stability in Europe.

The Ukrainian chairmanship focuses in particular

on the settlement of protracted conflicts and the

resumption of control over conventional weapons

within the OSCE area, the combat against trafficking

in human beings and other very pressing issues on the

Organization’s agenda. I wish to underline that in every

sector I have mentioned, some limited but practically

meaningful progress has been achieved.

Ukraine has also been able to give added urgency

to the issues of energy security and environmental

safety issues for the OSCE and take the issue of energy

efficiency to a new level. I am confident that the

successful realization of the priorities of the Ukrainian

chairmanship will allow for the intensifying of

cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE.

The year 2014 will mark the twentieth anniversary

of Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear-

weapon State. By ridding the world of its third-largest

nuclear arsenal, our country made an unprecedented

contribution to global nuclear disarmament. It was at

that time that Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Great

Britain and the United States concluded the Budapest

Memorandum on Security Assurances, joined later by

France and China.

In view of the historical significance of those

events and considering the recent alarming trends in

nuclear proliferation, Ukraine will initiate the holding,

at the current session of the General Assembly, of a

thematic conference. We expect that guarantor States,

countries that followed Ukraine’s example and other

interested parties will participate. I hope that this

international event will be a good opportunity to come

back to the issue of negative security assurances and

give it thorough consideration.

We stress that security assurances for those States

that gave up their nuclear arsenals and countries that

are not part of military unions must be reflected in a

legally binding international document.

We look forward to the holding of a successful

Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague next year.

Ukraine looks to that global forum to produce new

qualitative outcomes and encourages all other countries

to make appropriate contributions to that cause.

Ukraine, as a maritime State, deploys continuing

efforts to secure maritime navigation safety and to

combat piracy at sea. The primary task in that field is to

reinforce the efficacy of mechanisms for the prosecution

of those guilty of perpetrating and financing piracy.

We will further contribute to the strengthening of

peace through our active participation in United Nations

missions in hotspots throughout the world. In its more

than 20 years of participation in peacekeeping activities

under the auspices of the United Nations, Ukraine has

contributed to more than 20 such operations. Today

its agenda includes the consolidation and expansion

of that experience in the context of the United Nations

missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and

Côte d’Ivoire.

At the same time, we cannot but take note of

the existing problems with respect to the current

peacekeeping activities of our Organization. Along with

other countries that are contributors of Blue Helmets,

we will continue to work to solve them, particularly as

regards ensuring the mobility and safety of air operations

as well as the legal protection of peacekeepers and the

investigation of crimes committed against them.

Ukraine will make further significant practical

contributions aimed at making the world safer. To that

end, we will use all available instruments, especially

non-permanent membership in the Security Council if

our country is elected to that body for the period 2016-

2017. I count on support for the candidacy of Ukraine

in those elections.

Our country is fully committed to the collective

security system enshrined in the Charter of the United

Nations. The system, which has proved indispensable,

will remain the foundation of the world order.

Ukraine upholds President Ashe’s decisive

determination to achieve long-expected practical

advances in the reform of the United Nations. We

believe that it is critically important to achieve early

progress in the modernization of the Security Council.

We have great concern about the present stagnancy of

the process.

I would like to confirm once again the readiness

of Ukraine to discuss all progressive concepts related

to Security Council reform that could accelerate the

implementation of the long-overdue changes. We

consider that such reform must take into account the

legitimate interests of all regional groups, including the

Eastern European group. The countries of our region

should be allocated one additional non-permanent seat

in an enlarged Security Council.

All preconditions have been met for the sixty-

eighth session of the General Assembly to go down in

history as one of the most fruitful in terms of the work

of the United Nations, a key political body that is the

most representative of all world organizations. I am

firmly convinced that the community of nations is up

to the task.