Statement delivered by Ambassador Trishala Persaud, Deputy Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations, during the Security Council Briefing on 'Threats to International Peace and Security' (Ukraine)
Thank You, Mr. President.
Mr. President,
When this Council met yesterday to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine, many members, including Guyana, called for a lasting ceasefire and for the conflict parties to prioritize dialogue and take concrete steps toward ending the war. We reiterate that call today.
Mr. President,
The civilian toll in this war continues to mount with ongoing violations of international humanitarian law. This is enabled by the diversity of weapons being used, including with advance technologies, and their indiscriminate use, including in populated areas.
The recent report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry documented drone attacks that systematically struck civilians and civilian objects, including ambulances, which have special protection under international humanitarian law.
Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine continues to document high rates of civilian casualties owing to the use of missile and loitering munitions. This Council’s attention has been drawn on many occasions to the use of powerful explosive weapons in urban areas. Recent reports indicate the use of greater intensity missiles with fragmentation warheads that scatter fragments across large open areas, killing and injuring many civilians at once.
In addition, the use of landmines, including anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines, has also been reported, along with other weapons that are indiscriminate by nature and whose effects cannot be limited, as required under international humanitarian law.
Many of these weapons not only present an immediate threat to civilians during the conflict but also pose a danger to lives and livelihoods long after it ends.
Guyana once again calls upon the parties transferring weapons into this or any armed conflict to comply fully with international disarmament instruments and obligations and to ensure that all transfers are conducted within the existing international legal framework, including UN Security Council resolutions, and with adequate controls in place to prevent their irregular transfers.
Guyana further reminds that all parties to an armed conflict bear the primary responsibility of ensuring the protection of civilians. We demand that the parties to this conflict uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, including by taking constant care to prevent harm to civilians and civilian objects and to grant safe and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance for all those in need.
The failure to protect civilians in an armed conflict or to ensure that conflict parties uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law undermines the very foundation of peace and security and the mandate of this Council.
In closing, Mr. President, Guyana once again urges the parties to commit, in good faith, to a diplomatic process that will lead to a lasting ceasefire and ultimately an end to this conflict.
I Thank You.
