Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Delivered by Permanent Representative Lucy Duncan.
Mr Vice-President,
This year marks ten years of the Russian Federation’s illegal occupation of Crimea and two years since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. New Zealand continues to unequivocally condemn Russia’s illegal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. On 8 July, we have again seen the barbarity and callousness of Russia’s behaviour, with its barrage of air strikes across Ukraine causing unacceptable casualties at a children’s hospital and a maternity hospital, to name just two affected facilities. New Zealand has condemned these strikes.
We welcome the Secretary-General’s report into the human rights situation in Crimea and, for the first time, other parts of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation. We also welcome OHCHR’s continued critical work to document human rights violations.
The reports of widespread use of torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence, against civilians and Ukrainian prisoners of war are harrowing. We are gravely concerned by the reports of civilians being summarily executed by Russian armed forces.
The atmosphere of impunity described in the reports cannot continue. We strongly support efforts to ensure that all perpetrators of human rights violations are held fully accountable.
We again call on the Russian Federation to cease its war of aggression, withdraw its troops from within Ukraine’s internationally-recognised borders, and return to diplomatic negotiations as a means to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.
We continue to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Thank you.