UN Secretary-General on Russia's war against Ukraine: Time for just peace
UN Secretary-General António Guterres (photo: Getty Images)
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, during a meeting of the UN Security Council marking the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, called for the establishment of a just peace based on respect for international law, according to CNN.
The UN Secretary-General emphasizes that Russia's military aggression against Ukraine directly violates the UN Charter and international law.
“Two years on — and a decade since Russia’s attempted illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol — the war in Ukraine remains an open wound at the heart of Europe,” Guterres said.
Guterres stated it is high time for peace — a just peace based on the United Nations Charter, international law, and General Assembly resolutions.
The UN Secretary-General also stressed the importance of holding accountable all those responsible for committing war crimes, including torture against civilians and prisoners and sexual violence.
Furthermore, Guterres added, nearly four million Ukrainians have been internally displaced, and over 14.5 million people inside the country need humanitarian assistance.
The UN Secretary-General also warned of the conflict expanding and fanning regional instability.
Special tribunal for Russia's aggression against Ukraine
About forty countries have formed a group working on the creation of a special tribunal to hold Russia accountable for crimes committed in Ukraine.
As previously stated in the Verkhovna Rada, the special tribunal could start operating as early as 2024.
Meanwhile, the Prosecutor General of Latvia, Juris Stukāns, stated that a special tribunal for Russia could be created tomorrow, but it requires the will to do so.
Since the full-scale invasion began, Russia has been deporting Ukrainian children regularly to the annexed Crimea, Belarus, or remote areas of Russia.
The deportation became the reason for the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant for dictator Vladimir Putin and the authorized representative for children's rights in Russia, Maria Lvova-Belova, for the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.
Earlier, in December of last year, video footage emerged showing Ukrainian prisoners of war being used as human shields on the front lines in the Zaporizhzhia region. Media circulated footage showing Russians using unarmed Ukrainian soldiers as shields, leading them at gunpoint toward Ukrainian positions.
Also, on March 6, 2023, the network was shaken by a video published by Russian occupiers. The invaders filmed the execution of a Ukrainian prisoner of war after his words Glory to Ukraine.
Additionally, on February 20, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Helsinki Commission during a hearing on Russian war crimes.
Earlier, it was reported that on February 23, the UN General Assembly began a meeting on the issue Situation in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Representatives of 64 states are participating in the meeting.
