UN needs to act immediately, Russian military must be brought to justice: Zelenskyy at UNSC
Apr 05, 2022
New York [US], April 5 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday appealed to the United Nations and the world community to interfere in the ongoing conflict and stop the atrocities against civilians.
Zelenskyy made the remarks while speaking at a United Nations Security Council meeting where he also called for fair representation of all the regions in the most powerful organ of the United Nations.
"UN needs to act immediately, its system must be reformed immediately... There must be a fair representation of all regions in the Security Council. The Russian military must be brought to justice," Zelenskyy said.
"Civilians were crushed by tanks, women were raped and killed in front of their children. What Russian military did in Bucha is cruelty. The UN Charter has been violated literally. The massacre in Bucha is only one of many examples..." the Ukrainian President further said referring to the massacre of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha which was abandoned by the Russian Forces on April 1.
"Maximum access for journalists, maximum cooperation with international institutions, involvement of the International Criminal Court -- complete and full accountability. I'm sure that every member state of the UN should be interested in this. For what? In order to punish once and for all those who consider themselves privileged and believe that they can get away with anything," Zelenskyy further said while calling the Russian actions as "war crimes".
"So, show all the other potential war criminals in the world how they will be punished if the biggest one is punished," he urged the UN Security Council.
The strong remarks by the Ukrainian President came, even as Under-Secretary-General for political and peacebuilding affairs Rosemary A Dicarlo informed that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has received credible allegations that Russian forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times during the course of the conflict while adding that allegations that Ukrainian forces have used such weapons are also being investigated.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also spoke at the UNSC meeting and talked about the damage to the global economy while also recalling the Bucha massacre.
"I'll never forget the horrifying images of civilians killed in Bucha. I immediately called for an independent investigation to guarantee effective accountability. I was shocked by the personal testimony of rapes and sexual violence emerging now," Guterres said.
"Serious damage is being done to the global economy, particularly to developing countries... We're already seeing some countries move from vulnerability to crisis & signs of serious social unrest. With all the warning signs flashing red, we have a duty to act," he added.
Since Moscow's war on Ukraine launched on February 24, at least 1,232 civilian Ukrainians have been killed, according to the United Nations.
The actual figures, however, are expected to be much higher, as casualties from front-line areas aren't counted due to a lack of data.
At least 161 children have been killed and 264 injured by Russia's war, according to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office.
Meanwhile, US State Department is supporting efforts to document Russia's war crimes in Ukraine.
"An international team of prosecutors is heading to Ukraine to collect, preserve and analyze evidence that will hold Russia accountable," tweeted The Kyiv Independent.
