Statement to the Security Council on Ukraine - John Ging, Director of Operations on behalf of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, Kyiv/New York, 11 December 2015

As delivered

Madam President, Excellencies,

I thank you for this opportunity to brief the Council, from Kyiv, on the humanitarian situation on behalf of Mr. Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

I have myself just returned from a mission to eastern Ukraine where I witnessed the devastating impact of the conflict, in particular on the most vulnerable: the elderly and the sick.

2.7 million people are living in non-Government-controlled areas with limited freedom of movement. 800,000 people live in the difficult and dangerous conditions along the contact line between Government and non-Government-controlled areas. There are now up to one million people internally displaced, and more than one million people have fled the country.

Over the past days I have seen the unacceptable physical hardships and indignities faced by people, so many of them elderly, simply trying to move about their own country to access basic services such as healthcare and pensions. People have to queue on the roadside for hours and hours, as ASG Simonovic has also said, to cross the contact lines, often overnight, in freezing conditions with no shelter or sanitation facilities.

Almost a year ago, we welcomed the commitments in the Minsk Agreements to ‘ensure safe access, delivery, storage, and distribution of humanitarian assistance to those in need.’ However, these commitments have not been met.

In July, the United Nations and International NGOs were instructed by the de facto authorities of Luhansk and Donetsk, to register for formal accreditation. Following our inability to do so, constrained by international conventions, the de facto authorities imposed what has amounted to a four-month suspension of the work of international aid agencies, along with the expulsion of the majority of humanitarian actors from these areas.

I protest in the strongest possible terms, the suspension of humanitarian programmes and the expulsion of humanitarian actors, which stands in stark contravention of international norms and principles. Closing protection, food, health, water, shelter and recovery programmes has had a devastating impact on an already vulnerable and suffering people. Just one alarming example of the impact involved is the ending of a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) programme treating 146 multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis patients, which now dramatically increases the risk of the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis in these areas.

I welcome the recent progress made with the authorities in the non-Government-controlled areas of Luhansk following the Emergency Relief Coordinator’s recent visit. There, all United Nations agencies and one international NGO and ICRC have been able to resume their work. Yesterday I saw the immediate positive impact of these programmes. But there is so much to be done and it is so urgent as winter sets in. I appealed to the de facto authorities to allow the immediate return of all international humanitarian organizations.

In the non-Government-controlled area of Donetsk on the other hand, the United Nations humanitarian programmes remain suspended, with only two humanitarian organizations allowed to resume their operations. 37 national and 12 international staff members of the United Nations are present and ready to work but are not allowed to do so. This is not sustainable or acceptable and we urgently need a breakthrough. I therefore appeal for the support of Council Members on this and to secure the return of all aid agencies to these areas.

I recognize and appreciate the open, constructive and productive cooperation we have with the Government of Ukraine, but I must also add my voice to that of ASG Simonovic and appeal for urgent solutions to overcome the administrative blockages to the delivery of essential humanitarian supplies and services. The recent reduction in the volume of water, for example, being piped across contact lines into non-Government controlled areas of Luhansk, is seriously impacting the health of people in these areas, especially the most vulnerable.

It is unacceptable that existing laws prohibit the transport of much-needed commercial supplies into non-Government-controlled areas. I am also deeply concerned by a proposed law which, if adopted, would prohibit the transfer of water and electricity across contact lines. This would have a disastrous impact on the civilian population.

The United Nations organizations and international NGOs, in spite of the constraints they face, continue to assist where they can. In 2015, 2.1 million people were provided with access to safe water, nearly 320,000 with food assistance, over 230,000 with non-food items, and 75,000 people benefited from mobile medical consultations. This is testament to the dedication and commitment of aid agencies and the generosity of those funding them.

In the past days I have seen the inhumanity, the indignity and the needless suffering endured by people in eastern Ukraine as they try to go about their daily lives. This conflict is having an unacceptable impact on those least able to bear it.

I return to New York tomorrow distressed, having seen first-hand the particular inhumanity suffered by the elderly and children in the conflict-affected areas. Hopes are pinned on the fragile ceasefire, for which there has been renewed respect since September. I earnestly appeal to everyone with power and influence to put the humanitarian plight of civilians affected by this conflict at the centre of their attention for positive action in their favour. They desperately need our urgent help.