Statement of the Delegation of Ukraine at the UNSC Open Debate on the security in the context of terrorism and climate change

Having taken active part in the first-ever Security Council visit to the Lake Chad basin in March 2017 and having witnessed first-hand devastating impact of terrorism and climate change nexus, Ukraine

Ukrainians know too well what the evil of terrorism can be. Russian armed aggression against Ukraine has led to sharp increase of terrorist threats in the temporarily occupied territories and throughout the country.

We are convinced that combating the individual terrorists and terrorist groups will not be sufficient if the problem of state-sponsored terrorism is not addressed in a robust and comprehensive way.

Another matter of concern are attempts to use counter-terrorism as a pretext for repressive purposes in situation of occupation. We are appalled by the Russian occupying administration practices of oppressing Crimean Tatar activists, human rights defenders and journalists in the temporarily occupied Crimea under the guise of counter-terrorism measures, or terrorizing civilians in temporarily occupied parts of Donbas.

Militarization of Crimea, which Russia attempts to transform to its naval military base, has an adverse impact for unique eco-system of the peninsula and the adjacent waters.

Continued Russian aggression in Donbas also harmfully affects the environment of the region and creates high climate-related risks. In the occupied areas of Donbas many coal mines are cut off the power supply. Shut-down of mines’ ventilation and pumping systems often leads to volley emissions of mine gases and flooding of mines and nearby areas.

As a non-permanent member of this Council in 2016-2017, Ukraine has made its own contribution to the advancement of new counter-terrorism standards by raising the issue of the protection of critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks. This resulted in the adoption of the resolution 2341.