As delivered

Statement by Ambassador Sergíy Kyslytsya, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, at the UN Security Council Arria-formula meeting on "Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict: prevent and respond to persons going missing across the globe" (12 June 2024)

Chair,

I extend my gratitude to the Permanent Mission of Switzerland and the Global Alliance for the Missing for organizing this important discussion, and to the distinguished briefers for their insightful contributions.

Ukraine aligns itself with the statement to be delivered by the EU and would like to make a few additional points in its national capacity.

As emphasized, the issue of missing persons during armed conflicts remains critical. For Ukraine, facing brutal Russian aggression, this problem is particularly dire. The Ukrainian Government is making significant efforts to address this issue, including the creation of a Unified Register of Persons Missing under Special Circumstances by the Ministry of Interior. As of June 10, the Register lists over 48,000 entries, including 46,000 missing due to warfare and 2,000 unidentified bodies, comprising military personnel, civilians, and over 2,000 children. Only 1,700 civilians have been located and confirmed detained by Russia, with just 151 released, leaving the fate of over 44,000 people unknown.

Additional pressing issue is tracing and locating 20,000 Ukrainian children forcibly transferred or deported by Russia. Despite Russia’s obligation under IHL to provide comprehensive information to the ICRC Central Tracing Agency on these children as it claims them as ‘evacuated’, this obligation is not being fulfilled, hindering their reunification with the relatives.

The primary issue in searching for the missing is that Russia holds Ukrainian civilians and military personnel incommunicado, denying UN and ICRC representatives access to their detention locations. Thousands of Ukrainians are kept in inhumane conditions, tortured, denied legal assistance, and unable to inform their families of their whereabouts. The ungrounded persecution and detention of civilians is a clear violation of IHL, and all such detained civilians must be unconditionally released. 

In contrast, Ukraine provides unimpeded access to places of detention of Russian POWs and civilians held by Ukrainian authorities.

Another issue is identifying the deceased. Creating a DNA database requires significant resources, and we appreciate the assistance provided. The lack of access to the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories and Russia's destruction of evidence complicates the task. For example, in Mariupol, the drama theater bombed in March 2022 and other destroyed buildings, which became mass graves for tens of thousands of Mariupol residents, were cleared and concreted over by Russian occupiers.

The above highlights Russia's complete disregard and failure to adhere to IHL and UN Security Council Resolution 2474, which Russia itself adopted. 

In conclusion, we are grateful to all who assist in the search for the missing. Ukraine cooperates closely with governments, the UN, the ICRC, and other international organizations. The scale of the problem is immense, and we need all possible assistance to address it. The international community must demand that Russia cease its violations and fulfill its obligations under IHL and UNSC Resolution 2474.

Thank you!