Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Mr President,
New Zealand thanks the Secretary-General for his report and the High Commissioner for his update today. We welcome ongoing reporting on the human rights situation in Ukraine, given the continuation of Russia’s aggression, the heightened risk of violations of human rights during wartime, and to ensure accountability.
High Commissioner, your update today and the Secretary-General’s report detail that the human rights situation in Ukraine remains severely challenging, and that this is largely due to the Russian Federation’s disregard for its responsibilities under international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
New Zealand remains gravely concerned by the documented cases of executions, deaths in custody, arbitrary detention, torture, including sexual violence, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance in areas of temporary Russian control in Ukraine.
Civilians, including children, continue to be killed by Russian bombardment of densely-populated urban areas of Ukraine. This is unacceptable.
New Zealand calls for the Russian Federation to fully uphold its obligations under international law, including international human rights law.
Let us not forget that Russia started this war with an illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Russia can end this war tomorrow my withdrawing its forces.
High Commissioner, what more can be done to ensure accountability for the human rights violations in wartime in Ukraine?
Thank you Mr President