STATEMENT
by H.E. Ambassador Yurii KLYMENKO,
Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva,
Head of the delegation of Ukraine to the Meeting of Experts of Protocol V of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
(28 September 2020, Geneva)
Mr. President,
I would like to congratulate you on the assumption of your duties and wish you success in your endeavors at this post. The Ukrainian delegation is ready to cooperate with you to advance the objectives of the CCW and its Protocol V.
Distinguished delegates,
The Ukrainian delegation has aligned itself with the statement delivered on behalf of the European Union. At the same time, I would like to use this opportunity to make some remarks in the national capacity.
Ukraine emphasizes the importance of Protocol V as an international legal instrument, the implementation and universalization of which provide an opportunity to reduce the mortal threat of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW).
Despite current significant challenges in the security field related to the hybrid external war waged against my country, Ukraine fully complies with its obligations under the abovementioned document. Our country submits on a regular basis Ukraine’s national annual reports on compliance under the CCW and its Protocols.
With the outbreak in 2014 of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, a huge number of areas contaminated by ERW have emerged. We have to deal with a drastically increased number of dangerous ERW, causing severe casualties among civilians, including children.
The volume of territories, where hostilities have been taking place since May 2014 and which are currently under the Russian occupation, is about 16 000 square kilometers, of which almost 60% are contaminated by ERW.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine and Ukrainian law enforcement agencies implement all the possible measures to overcome the consequences of disruptive activities of the Russian occupation authorities and illegal armed groups supported by it carried out in violation of the CCW.
In order to secure public safety, pyrotechnicians of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine perform a wide range of actions on demining and disposal of explosive remnants on the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions liberated from the control of the illegal armed groups.
As of August 2020, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine has conducted over 10 000 clearance operations, during which almost 50 200 unexploded ordnances were cleared and destroyed, and over 3 200 hectares of land have been cleared. On a daily basis, measures are being taken to identify potentially contaminated territories. According to the results of all executed clearance operations, 99% of the territory of Ukraine has been inspected for UXO presence (does not include the temporarily occupied territories). Relevant findings and information are then being transmitted to the IMSMA database (more than 12 000 reports).
The successful realization of the broad range of demining tasks is hardly feasible without the international cooperation.
The main areas of such cooperation are:
- performing tasks of humanitarian demining and execution of joint actions on demining quality control;
- exchange of information on the ERW issue;
- participation in programs to create the latest means of searching for explosive ordnance and means of protection, introduction and application of advanced technologies for ammunition disposal;
- implementation of national mine action standards harmonized with international;
- training of demining specialists.
The State Emergency Service (SES) and the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine actively and effectively cooperate with the UN Mine Action Service, UN Office for Project Services, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, OSCE, NATO, ICRC, UNICEF and others.
Moreover, the SES works closely with Danish Refugee Council in Ukraine as part of a joint humanitarian mine project entitled “Preparation and involvement in the humanitarian demining work of pyrotechnic units of the SES of Ukraine”.
This year the SES and HALO Trust launched a new joint project of international technical assistance “Humanitarian mine action in the East of Ukraine”.
However, because of the ongoing external aggression, a broad variety of extraordinary tasks confronting us today in implementing the Protocol in the Southeast of Ukraine remains. Therefore, the Ukrainian side would appreciate further technical and financial assistance in coping with them as well as looking forward to intensifying our cooperation with international partners, first of all in the field of sharing modern ERW detection and destruction technologies and providing necessary equipment.
Mr. President,
The delegation of Ukraine looks forward to productive and fruitful discussions, and is ready for joint efforts to make this Meeting a success.
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STATEMENT
by H.E. Ambassador Yurii KLYMENKO,
Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva,
Head of the delegation of Ukraine to the Meeting of Experts of Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
(29 September 2020, Geneva)
Madame President-designate,
At the outset, I wish to congratulate you on the assumption of your duties and wish you every success in this endeavor. Please be assured of my delegation’s full support in advancing the objectives of the CCW and its Amended Protocol II.
Distinguished delegates,
Ukraine emphasizes the important contribution of Protocol II into improvement of the global situation around the mine threat problem’s tackling.
Our state’s national annual reports on compliance under the CCW and its Protocols are submitted on a regular basis.
Ukraine shares the view that the presence of mines and other dangerous explosive devices is a direct long-term threat to the civil population and a significant challenge for humanitarian operations.
I am pleased to inform about the passage this September 17 by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the Law «On amendments to the Law of Ukraine on mine action in Ukraine». It aims to create a climate conducive to building an effective mine action system equipped with a streamlined single chain of command, including through establishment of a mine action center and of a humanitarian demining center.
Faced with a need to counter the external aggression and protect civilian population against its consequences, the Ukrainian Armed Forces strictly adhere to the Technical Annex to the Protocol, including its mandatory provisions.
Nowadays, Ukraine has to deal with drastically increased number of dangerous mines, booby-traps and other explosive devices having been massively used in the southeast of the country by illegal armed groups supported by the Russian Federation. They, in particular, use mines, artillery ammunition, military explosives and explosives used in the coal industry for IEDs manufacturing.
The Russian occupation administration and illegal armed groups supported by it have been using conventional munitions in violation of the provisions of the Protocol. In particular, they have been using antipersonnel mines type OZM-72 and MON-50 in non-controlled mode. Moreover, those munitions have been placed by them unsystematically, including in civilian areas, without proper marking. This is a major cause of injuries and deaths not just among servicemen, but also civilians, including children.
The deminers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the zone of Join Forces Operation have detected Soviet landmines PMN-2, POM-2. These types of mines were destroyed in Ukraine before 2013. Despite the fact that, according to the provisions of the Protocol, the use of antipersonnel mines PMN-2 is prohibited, the Russian occupants and their proxies widely use ammunition of this type. In 2020 the Armed Forces of Ukraine registered 19 cases of the antipersonnel mines used by them, that is prohibited by Protocol II (in particular, there were detected 425 PMN-2, 26 POM-2, and there were 2 cases of detection of a non-contact explosive anti-personnel device "Hunting").
Armed Forces of Ukraine mark sites that are contaminated with explosive ordnance. This activity is being carried out in a manner that corresponds to the provisions of the Protocol, as well as international standards. The International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) are accepted as national regulations of Ukraine.
Great importance is given to informing the population about the risks of mines and explosive remnants of war in the liberated territories. This work is carried out with the involvement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service, the State Special Transport Service, the National Police, non-governmental organizations - HALO Trust, DDG, FSD, the Red Cross, UNICEF and others. The above activity, in particular, foresees:
The Ukrainian experts constantly collect and analyze experience in implementing tasks in conditions of widespread use of improvised explosive devices (in so-called "mine war" conditions). The experience and information gained are used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine for improving the counter - IED capabilities, as well as are shared with other national law enforcement agencies.
Because of the ongoing external aggression, a broad variety of extraordinary tasks confronting us today in implementing the Protocol in the Southeast of Ukraine remains. The Ukrainian side would appreciate further technical and financial assistance in coping with them as well as looking forward to intensifying our cooperation with international partners.
Madame President,
The delegation of Ukraine looks forward to a productive and fruitful discussion, and is ready for joint efforts to achieve a successful outcome.
I thank you.