The UN Security Council on Friday May 7 unanimously adopted its first declaration on Ukraine since Russia invaded in February, backing Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ efforts to find a “peaceful solution” to the war.
The declaration, drafted by Norway and Mexico and obtained by AFP, stopped short of supporting a mediation effort by Guterres, as was laid out in an earlier version of the text.
“The Security Council expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine,” the text adopted Friday said.
Asked what led Russia, which has blocked the Security Council since February, to approve this latest text, one diplomat told AFP, under condition of anonymity, that “all the good stuff is gone.”
The 15-member council also reminded its constituents “that all member states have undertaken, under the Charter of the United Nations, the obligation to settle their international disputes by peaceful means.”
The text ends by asking Guterres to submit a report to the council after the adoption of the declaration.
The declaration is the first show of unity from the Security Council since the beginning of the Ukraine war.
“Today, for the first time, the Security Council spoke with one voice for peace in Ukraine,” Guterres said in a statement. “The world must come together to silence the guns and uphold the values of the UN Charter.”
Guterres said he would “continue to spare no effort to save lives, reduce suffering and find the path of peace.”
Mexico’s ambassador to the UN, Juan Ramon de la Fuente, said the declaration was “a very first initial step but it points on the right direction.”
“It’s encouraging to see diplomacy is getting its place at the council,” he said, adding that “quiet diplomacy is sometimes much more effective than when you have lots of statements.”
His Norwegian counterpart, Mona Juul, said it was “the first unanimous decision made by the council after this horrific war started in Ukraine.”
“The needs and the suffering of the people of Ukraine needs a maximum effort from the United nations side both from the Council, from the secretary-general and from the UN system as such,” she said.
At the end of February, Russia vetoed a resolution condemning the invasion and asking Moscow to move its army back to Russian soil.
The UN has been pushed to the sidelines since Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbor on February 24. The global body, tasked with ensuring world peace, has not yet established itself as a possible mediator for a peaceful resolution of the war.
Until now, the UN has intervened in Ukraine and the surrounding countries in a mainly humanitarian role.
Guterres recently visited Russia and Ukraine for the first time since the war began, a trip which allowed him to obtain the green light for evacuations of several hundred civilians from the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
The UN announced on Friday that its chief will return to the region on Monday and Tuesday with a visit to Moldova, which is hosting nearly half a million Ukrainian refugees.
During his stay, he will visit a refugee center run with the assistance of the United Nations and which aims to help women, children and young people in particular.
Demonstrators protest against Russia’s war on Ukraine, in front of the UN headquarters in New York.
