News

Statement by Raimonda Murmokaitė, Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the United Nations, 30 April 2014 Implementation of Note S/2010/507, UNSC Private meeting Madam President, May I commend you and all the team of Nigeria for the excellent and efficient Presidency of the Council during the month of April. Once again, our appreciation in particular for the first ever stand-alone Council resolution on SSR.  

In the past few months the Council has been faced with a rapid and seemingly unexpected deterioration of situation in countries or regions, with or without clear warning signs  of what was about to transpire.

This reminds us once again of the importance of  developing the capacity to read early warning signs and mobilise for an early preventive response in the UN’s work, especially as the Council agenda is expanding to an unprecedented level, and questions  regarding crisis response capacity and potential  peacekeeping overstretch may become increasingly pertinent.

South Sudan, CAR, Darfur, Ukraine, and most recently Burundi- each continues to demand urgent and effective response in order to prevent escalation and eventual devastating crises with long term effects on the nations concerned as well as on regional and international peace and security. The jury is still out on whether in any of these cases the Council was able to fully muster its preventive powers.

As we are continuously faced with the question of whether enough has been done, or whether once again, too little, too late, - one thing is clear. Unity of the Council is fundamental if we want to prevent a further flare up of crises and humanitarian and political catastrophies.

The looming threat of genocide and further deteriorating security situation in CAR necessitated the full use of tools at the Security Council’s disposal to prevent the worst from happening. MISCA and Sangaris have been doing critical work in protecting civilians, and we commend their efforts. Following the adoption of resolution 2149 (2014) earlier this month, it is now key that MINUSCA reaches its full capacity and is fully operational by the established date of September 15.

We cannot stress enough the importance of accountability for crimes committed by all sides to the conflict. As we know too well, impunity breeds more impunity. In this respect we welcome the preliminary examination into the situation in Central African Republic opened by the ICC. CAR sanctions regime is an important tool at the Council’s disposal and we look forward to continue working closely with Council members and CAR neighbours in this respect.

Madam President,

Despite urgent measures adopted by the Council late last year, the crisis in South Sudan  continues to deteriorate. What is at stake here is not only human lives, but also the credibility of UN’s actions and response.

At this stage it is critical to persuade the warring leaders to place the interests of their country and people above those of their own. Good offices, mediation capabilities, more active involvement of moral and spiritual leaders and civil society- efforts must be redoubled on all levels. The Council must also be ready to use the entire toolbox at its disposal, including targeted sanctions, in close cooperation with the regional powers and regional organization.

As we look forward to the reports from the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and special envoy for the prevention of genocide Adama Dieng, we again stress the importance of justice and accountability as an element of prevention and deterrence, as well as a credible way to move forward to eventual reconciliation and building sustainable peace.

While we commend UNMISS for doing their best in an extremely difficult situation, we look forward to working closely with Council members on the future mandate of UNMISS. The issue of UN/UNMISS relations with the host country also needs to be addressed in order to prevent the lives of the peacekeepers and mission staff  being increasingly put in harm’s way.

Let me now turn to the situation in Ukraine which too continues to deteriorate even as we speak. Much was said yesterday during the Council’s open briefing. I will therefore limit myself to just a few points.

Although undoubtedly unique in its nature and potential consequences on the international order that has prevailed since the end of World War II, it bears certain parallels with the other cases on the Council’s agenda.

One such issue is that of accountability. In this respect we welcome Ukraine’s acceptance of the jurisdiction of the International criminal Court (ICC) over alleged crimes committed on its territory from 21 November 2013 to 22 February 2014.    

Another issue is that of the importance and effectiveness of concerted international efforts aimed at defusing the crisis, including through UN’s good offices and mediation capacities. My delegation welcomes the early and continuous engagement by UNSG in this respect. We commend Ukraine’s continuous readiness to cooperate with the Secretary General and his envoys.

As armed separatists continue their onslaught against Ukraine’s statehood, we urge the Secretariat to redouble their efforts aimed at deescalating the increasingly explosive situation in and around Ukraine, which puts in danger the very existence of the state and risks new redrawings of Europe’s borders following Crimea’s occupation by Russia.

UN and key regional organisations must continue- and must be allowed to continue - concerted efforts to prevent the worst from happening. Interfering in the work of international observers, and mediators, denial of access and attacks against international staff, such as the recent hostage taking by armed separatists of an OSCE monitors team, are totally unacceptable and must be most firmly condemned by the international community.

As Ukraine moves closer to May 25 presidential elections, the next few weeks will be critical. Further escalation and provocations by those opposed to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity will only intensify. This Council must therefore remain actively seized of the developments in Ukraine and be ready to respond as needed.

Finally, Madam President, a few words on the working methods. We welcome the Nigerian Presidency’s consistent dedication to the Council’s openness as seen from the number of open debates and briefings that you organised. We also appreciate the presidency holding this wrap up session which gives us an opportunity to review the work done but also look to the work ahead.

At the same time, my delegation appreciates the work of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and other Procedural Questions under the able chairmanship of Argentine. The recently adopted note on penholdership (S/2014/268)stressed the importance of freedom for any Security Council member to act as penholder. 

It also encourages penholders to share information, as early as possible in the drafting exercise, among all Security Council and engage in timely consultations with all Council members. The tendency of the last few months, when important draft resolutions were shared on the eve on the vote, does not help to foster transparency or ownership of the decisions. 

I thank you.