Delivered by: Her Excellency Lana Nusseibeh, Ambassador and Permanent Representative
I thank Under-Secretary-General Izumi Nakamitsu for her briefing, and I welcome Ukraine’s participation in today’s meeting.
As we have stated repeatedly in this chamber, it is vital to safeguard weapons during transfer, storage, and deployment, and in particular, we wish to echo the High Representative’s call for vigilance against the risks of diversion.
We continue to urge concerted steps by all parties, with responsibility and transparency, to mitigate the risks associated with arms transfers in this context.
And we call on the Security Council to ensure uniform compliance with all its relevant resolutions.
For 16 months, this war has devastated Ukraine. It has killed thousands, displaced millions, and inflicted billions of dollars of damage to critical infrastructure.
A generation of families is forever changed.
Children growing up with the trauma of living under constant bombardment. Fathers that are on the front lines instead of at home. Mothers, on whose shoulders disproportionately falls the responsibility of providing both sustenance and security.
Ukraine’s fertile fields, which only recently fed hundreds of millions around the world, are transformed into battlefields, crisscrossed by hundreds of kilometers of front lines, marked by trenches reminiscent of the first World War, and a terrifying display of the capabilities of the most advanced military technologies of this century.
While this may be a European war in geography, it is most certainly a global concern.
Outside the theater of war, Europe is again threatened by the dynamics that once divided it into two rival camps.
Political, economic, social, and cultural links – optimistic bonds of community that once brought the continent together at a time of great promise – are being progressively and almost irreparably unwound.
A decoupling will have profound implications for the future of Europe, and around the world.
The war’s impact on the global economy, on trade in commodities, energy, and food, has been discussed extensively in this and other fora.
Today, we contend with the once unthinkable but now tangible prospect of a nuclear disaster.
Countries around the world are impacted every day by this war and its consequences, with no diplomatic reprieve on the horizon.
At the same time, the world must contend with an impaired post-pandemic economic recovery and debt crisis.
The multilateral system is weighed down with division and polarization at precisely the moment it needs to rise up and meet the existential challenge of the climate change and create a blueprint for the sustainable development agenda and economic growth.
A constant call echoes from every corner of the globe is in support of a peaceful resolution to this conflict.
Member States have kept faith with the UN Charter, and therein lies our hope and the blueprint for what happens next.
In large majorities, countries have repeatedly voted for an end to this war that preserves Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
It is time for a serious effort to that end.
We cannot afford repeat cycles of approaching the precipice of disaster – only to walk back at the very last moment. Too much is at stake.
To that end, the UAE strongly urges a cessation of hostilities throughout Ukraine and the vigorous pursuit of a just and lasting peace.
Only by abiding with the UN Charter will the end of this conflict enshrine an inclusive and stable security architecture for Europe.
Only by abiding with the UN Charter will the end of this conflict preserve sovereignty as the foundational building block of our open and cooperative international order for the benefit of all of us.
We are under no illusions of the difficulty of the diplomacy required to end this war, but the countries with the most ability to influence the future course of events are seated around this table.
We are in no need of further reminders of the consequences of the alternative.