Checked Against Delivery
Mister President,
Denmark aligns itself with the statements delivered by the European Union and by Finland on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic states.
One week ago, Ukraine celebrated the 35th anniversary of regaining its independence. This was an independence hard-fought and hard-won. It was, and remains, an internationally-recognised independence, with internationally-recognised borders and protections.
Today, however, and for more than 12 years, those borders and protections have come under direct assault from the Russian Federation.
For 12 years, in clear violation of the UN Charter, Russia has attempted to redraw Ukraine’s borders by force, to erase Ukraine from the map, subjugate the Ukrainian people and deny them their right to choose their own future. And for 12 years, Russia has failed.
Mister President,
Today’s debate is a vital opportunity to send a strong and united message to the estimated 3.5 million Ukrainians trapped in the Russian temporarily-occupied territories. A message of solidarity and of support. A reminder that the international community stands with them and has not forgotten them.
Russia has long prevented independent observers, including UN bodies, from entering these territories. However, the testimonies of those who have managed to escape shine a light on what life under Russian occupation has become.
It is a life where the most vulnerable, often children, suffer the most. Where schools are used to reinforce political control and indoctrination. Where the Ukrainian language is effectively banned, and a Russian passport is required to graduate. Where propaganda is relentless and military training for a foreign army is mandatory.
This is the reality for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children in the temporarily occupied territories. And many thousands more, however, have been unlawfully deported and forcibly transferred to Russia itself.
In this regard, Denmark demands that Russia fully complies with last year’s General Assembly resolution demanding the immediate, safe and unconditional return of these children.
Similarly, Ukrainian adults are also subjected to attempts to eradicate their identity. A Russian passport is needed to access all basic services. Ukrainians who refuse Russian citizenship risk deportation to Russia. Outward displays of Ukrainian identity and culture have become dangerous, with civilians regularly detained on false charges and subjected to arbitrary imprisonment and severe abuse.
Political detainees are sent to penal colonies across the border in Russia. And as the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has assessed, Ukrainians detained by Russia are subjected to widespread and systematic torture and ill-treatment, including physical abuse, psychological terror, and sexual violence.
Mister President,
The reported conditions Ukrainians experience in the occupied territories clearly violate international humanitarian law. Denmark condemns all violations of international humanitarian law in the strongest terms.
Russia’s illegal invasions of Ukraine have not led to peace. Not in 2014, not in 2022, and not today.
Denmark calls on Russia to immediately halt its illegal war of aggression and to accept Ukraine’s offer of an unconditional, immediate and comprehensive ceasefire.
This is the essential first step to a just and lasting peace in line with the UN Charter.
I thank you.
