Remarks by Victor Yushchenko to the 64th UN General Assembly

Mr. President,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of Ukraine I congratulate His Excellency Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki, representative of Libya, on his election as President of the 64th session of the UN General Assembly.

I wish you, Mr. President, every success in your activities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Each year we all gather here on the high level in the General Assembly to present our own, national views on the life of our Planet and its peoples.

We are striving to get the feeling of the overall emotional setting and the pulse of human energy, ideas and quests.

The emotional setting of Ukraine is open, principled and tolerant. We have gathered here not to offend each other or emphasize insults.

We are here to resolve common problems.

I call upon all of us to use tolerance against bigotry, malignance and arrogance.

I am telling this on behalf of the nation whose last lustrum is "unique in terms of challenges and progress.

We in Ukraine live in the atmosphere of strengthening freedom.

This process is both grand and complex. Its difficulties discourage idealists, nurture authoritarian forces, yet they render another alpine peak for all enlightened minds and hands to move upwards.

The milestone of our nation today is the basis for moving forward to live a free and safe life, to revive our own millennium-old tradition, its interrupted ties and to be again an active part of global civilization and its future.

Our democratic choice is irreversible.

As a free nation, we shall not accept any forms of interference into internal affairs of sovereign states, any pressure on them or manifestations of authoritarian thinking in international relations.

We remember the price paid by our fathers for our freedom, for the freedom of Europe and the world, for the future independence of Ukraine.

We shall soon commemorate the 65fl anniversary of the victory over fascism.

This joint victory of anti-Hitler coalition is sacred.

The mission of all countries which remember the horrors of the fascism is to avert a single hint at restoration of totalitarian ideology and its derivative: the policy of imperial ambitions, neglecting the value of human life and violating the right of peoples to sovereign national existence.

I am raising this issue, because we are witnessing very disconcerting reemerged signals from the past: ranging from questioning the very existence of newly independent states to denying the nations’ own views on their past and future.

We are concerned about substitution of concepts and approaches: cooperation, openness and friendship among nations are being explicitly confronted by aggressive national egotism, ignoring the interests of close partners, and by dictating the right of the powerful. Unconcealed information wars, energy and economic blackmail, interference with sovereign affaires fall outside the civilized framework.

And, most importantly, we strongly condemn and we shall not accept any violations of the fundamental international principles, in particular territorial integrity and inviolability of frontiers of all sovereign states.

It is an axiom for us that all the UN Member States and especially the permanent members of the Security Council must be exemplary in abiding by the principles of international law, equality of nations and neighborliness.

For our Charter remains unshattered, entrusting the Security Council with the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.

Ukraine acts in strict compliance with the goals and principles of the United Nations and expects the same from its partners and neighbors.

Today, I have the honor to confirm Ukraine’s resolve to become a UN Security Council member in 2016-2017.

Our country has been and will always remain a reliable partner of the UN in all matters of peace and security and in collective actions fostering stability in every region, especially in Africa.

This year I approved the Strategy of Ukraine’s International Peacekeeping Activity, which will consolidate our contribution and participation in this’field. Safety of peacekeepers has been constantly in the focus of Ukraine’s attention.

As one of the initiators of the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel we propose to the General Assembly to consider additional measures for strengthening the legal protection of the participants of peacekeeping operations.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Almost 15 years ago Ukraine voluntarily gave up the third largest nuclear potential and acceded to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear state.

We welcome the steps taken by the United States and the Russian Federation to elaborate a new agreement to replace the Treaty between the USSR and the USA on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms of 31 July 1991, which expires this year.

At the same time, Ukraine persistently counts on the support by the Security Council permanent members of our proposal to enhance security assurances for non-nuclear states, in particular for those which had voluntarily renounced nuclear weapons or their development.

That will become an important incentive for many countries. Ukraine will continue to act responsibly and constructively in matters of military and security cooperation.

We strictly abide by the Security Council resolutions and adhere to all established international regimes. . -

Our position in this sphere is consistent with all our international obligations. It is verified, balanced and unchangeable.

Mr. President,

I wish to dwell on the issue of the utmost importance for Ukraine. It is the global fight against the maritime piracy. We value all efforts of the United Nations and the International Maritime Organization in this regard.

Still, the measures so far have not been sufficient.

Almost 70 000 Ukrainian citizens are employed on ships under foreign flags. Any developments on the high seas affect us directly.

In the last seven years only, pirates attacked 18 vessels with Ukrainian sailors on board.

In the last nine months only, 35 Ukrainian sailors were taken hostages.

It is not a local problem anymore. It has become very dangerous and threatening all of us. We shall not turn a blind eye on it.

Ukraine was among the co-sponsors of the IMO Resolution "Piracy and armed robbery against ships in waters off the coast of Somalia", which laid the ground for further respective UN Security Council resolutions.

We strongly support elaboration of uniform and clear rules to fight pirates and to protect sailors.

We are convinced that the General Assembly has to become a coordinating body for the efforts of all specialized institutions in this field.

We call for more active stance of those UK members which are main countries of origin of employed marine workers and of those states and organizations capable of making an impact on the safety of international maritime navigation.

On behalf of Ukraine I propose to examine carefully an idea of establishing in one of the African countries a regional center under the UN aegis which would bring under its umbrella specialized agencies, programs and funds as well as political offices to counter piracy.

I want to be clear - Ukraine will be actively engaged in all international endeavors, and we intend to join the EU Atalanta anti-piracy naval operation.

As President of Ukraine, I urge the General Assembly to debate these very critical issues in a separate meeting.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We face manifold challenges that we can resolve only by concerted efforts, I am convinced that one of the most acute problems for all of us is the global financial crisis.

Ukraine welcomes decisions of multilateral fora, in particularly those of the Group of 20 as the leading instrument to counter the crisis.

In this process, our Organization can and should play its role in preventing the financial perturbations from spinning out into social upheavals.

Perhaps, it is time to revisit the idea previously expressed by Ukraine and recently by a number of other countries.

I mean creation of the UN Economic Security Council. The large scale of this proposal should not prompt us to shelve it or reject altogether.

Besides, decisions on the financing of UN activities within regular reviews of the scale of assessments, too, have to be taken with due account of the global crisis.

The principal and most important objective for our Universal Organization and for each of our countries is to protect common people from the crisis and to prevent the decline of their living standards.

Despite all the economic difficulties, Ukraine is aware of its responsibility to support other countries that have suffered even more.

This year Ukraine has become a donor of the UN World Food Programme.

We hope that our contribution will save millions of lives in Africa. Ukraine understands very well your needs, dear partners, and we shall strive to save people suffering from hunger.

Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have gathered here today to get the feeling of the overall emotional setting of the Planet. Ukraine’s emotional setting is resolute, perseverant and benevolent.

We believe in our Organization.

We are capable of great achievements.

I am firmly convinced in our strength to move forward confidently for the benefit of the world, our peoples and countries.

Thank you.