Statement by the delegation of Ukraine at the UNGA meeting on strengthening of the coordination of the UN humanitarian and disaster relief assistance

Mr. President,

In 2017, humanitarian agencies reached more people in need than ever before. Dramatic levels of humanitarian need have resulted from the current crises which present increasingly complex challenges, with people being forced to flee their homes to save their lives.

As armed conflict continues to be the main driver of humanitarian crises, it will cause the largest proportion of humanitarian needs in 2018. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, next year staggering 136 million people across the world will need humanitarian assistance and protection.

Many modern conflicts are often fueled by other states pursuing their own political interests. They aren`t concerned about humanitarian situation in conflict-affected regions, and their incentive to reach a peace deal is much lower than before. Therefore, a lot of humanitarian crises have become protracted.

Mr. President,

Adoption of today’s resolutions is especially important for Ukraine, which nowadays is facing the most serioushumanitarian challenge since it achieved independence in 1991. I would like to stress time and again that the dire humanitarian situation in the Eastern part of Ukraine is a direct consequence of the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine. According to the United Nations, 3.4 million people need humanitarian assistance and protection. After almost four years of armed conflict, about 1.5 million Ukrainians are registered as internally displaced persons, amounting to 4 per cent of Ukraine`s overall population.

200 thousand people living within five kilometers of the ‘contact line’ in the Government Controlled Areas experience an average of 47 clashes a day: essentially, one shelling every 30 minutes. Civilians continue to face serious risks to their safety, wellbeing and basic rights due to the active and ongoing hostilities, as well as the saturation of land mines and other explosive ordinances. This area, according to the UN, has already become the most mine-contaminated stretches of land in the world.

Continuation of the Russian aggression can also lead to an ecological and humanitarian catastrophe. Key civilian infrastructure, including tanks of deadly chlorine gas, has come under regular fire; a significant number of coal mines is flooded.

That is why cessation of hostilities remains essential in enabling effective humanitarian response, the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel.

Mr. President,

We firmly believe that the comprehensive settlement can be achieved through the deployment of the UN peacekeeping mission in the East of Ukraine with the main purpose to stop hostilities and to restore full Ukrainian government control over the state border. Only this would allow to improve humanitarian situation in the whole area.

To this effect, the Parliament of Ukraine has adopted the legislation on the creation of necessary conditions for peaceful settlement of the situation in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

To cope with the security situation in the region, Ukraine had toincrease expenditures on national security and defense up to 5 % of GDP (Gross domestic product) even when of the economic situation in the country is severely affected by the mentioned external factors.

It is against this difficult background that the Government of Ukraine is doing its utmost to address the humanitarian needs of people affected by the conflict, focusing on the improvement of the protection of internally displaced persons, including their housing and reintegration.

Ukraine is grateful for the assistance provided by the UN sistem: High Commissioner for Refugees, World Food Programme, UNICEF, OCHA, other agencies and bilateral partners, especially the European Union, the United States and Canada as well as International Committee of the Red Cross and other international non-governmental organizations which continue to support Ukraine, providing assistance to millions of people in need.

In particular, we are thankful to OCHA for advancing its Humanitarian Response Plans, the last of which, for 2018, aims to provide critical humanitarian assistance and protection to 2.3 million people in need.

Mr. President,

Ukraine fully supports the Secretary General’s ambitious UN reform efforts, in particular in the area of the humanitarian assistance. For this endeavor to succeed, we believe the following steps are critical:

— firstly, the international community has to engage in multi-year planning for humanitarian needs and enhance coordination between the United Nations and other humanitarian actors on the ground;

— secondly, to address the increase in protracted crises, we need greater political and financial investment in mediation, conflict prevention and peacebuilding;

— thirdly, to improve humanitarian work through increasing authority of the resident coordinators and strengthening alignment and cooperation with development agencies;

— fourthly, to respond faster to crises, in a way more attuned to the needs of affected people;

— fifthly, to ensure the safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access to conflict-affected areas.

Thank you.