Mr. President,

First, I would like to thank Chad for organizing this thematic UNSC debate on Terrorism and Cross-Border Crime, which comes at such a critical and challenging time.

Mr. President,

Ukraine welcomes the adoption of the resolution on the linkages between transnational organized crime and terrorism in some regions.

Unfortunately almost every day we learn with the deep sorrow of new victims of terrorist attacks which occur in all corners of the world. This world's evil can be eliminated only through consolidated and decisive measures taken by international community.

Ukraine is deeply concerned about the activity of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Al Nusrah Front (ANF) and other terrorist entities associated with Al-Qaida, and the negative impact of their presence, violent extremist ideology, and threats they are posing to the stability of Iraq, Syria and the entire region, including the devastating humanitarian impact on the civilian populations which has led to the displacement of millions of people.

Ukraine condemns the terrorist attacks committed by Boko Haram in Nigeria causing hundreds of deaths and injuries.

Mr. President,

Ukraine shares the Security Council’s position that terrorism in all forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivations, whenever and by whosoever committed.

Mr. President,

Ukraine supports central role of the United Nations in the global efforts aimed at suppressing international terrorism as well as in promoting international cooperation in this field. The Global Counterterrorism Strategy continues to be central in addressing the evolving trends of the terrorist phenomena in an integrated and balanced way.

Ukraine is a party to about 20 multilateral conventions and protocols in the field of counter-terrorism. The Government of Ukraine is actively engaged in counter-terrorism cooperation with many international and regional organizations, including United Nations, OSCE, Council of Europe, and Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), as well as Organization for Democracy and Economic Development – GUAM.

Mr. President,

Nuclear terrorism, as well as proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, continues to be one of the most challenging threats to the international security. I am proud to say that my country plays one of the leading roles in preventing nuclear terrorism. Furthering its longstanding goals in nuclear nonproliferation, Ukraine has responsibly implemented its pledge to get rid of all national stocks of highly enriched uranium. The meaning of this voluntary step is clear: Ukraine is a consistent and reliable partner making valuable contribution to combating nuclear terrorism as well as strengthening the entire system of nuclear safety and security. And all this is despite the ongoing foreign aggression that my country has been facing.

Mr. President,

Unfortunately, since recently, the problem of terrorism has become pertaining to my country. As you may know, the Government of Ukraine has been conducting counterterrorism operation in the east of Ukraine since the last March.  

It's simply incredible: terrorism has emerged in the country where the terrorist threat was assessed by the UN experts as low, just a few months before the occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and the establishment of the terrorist organizations DNR and LNR. As it turned out, foreign factors might encourage this evil to grow rapidly. The situation in the world in general and in my country in particular has shown that the international community must redouble its efforts in the fight against terror.

Mr. President,

Ukraine is extremely concerned with the facts of flagrant violations of the international counterterrorism treaties by particular States. The Russian Federation continues to break its international obligations on terrorism. In particular, Russia has completely neglected its obligations under the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism of 1999 and the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings of 1997.

Mr. President,

As the situation in Ukraine has clearly shown, terrorism can be used as a hidden aggression against sovereign states. We call upon the international community to continue to take decisive actions aimed at combating state-sponsored terrorism against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its members.

Mr. President,

Without the adherence to international treaties and genuine cooperation by all states parties any international counterterrorism efforts, including those by the Security Council, shall be vain.

On our part, I would like to underline once again that Ukraine will remain committed to cooperation on the international, regional and sub-regional level in order to make world-wide environment completely intolerable towards terrorism and its supporters.  

I thank you Mr. President

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