Ministrul afacerilor externe Bogdan Aurescu a participat joi, 22 septembrie 2022, la New York, la reuniunea de nivel înalt a Consiliului de Securitate al ONU, dedicată temei menținerii păcii şi securității în Ucraina, în contextul participării la segmentul de nivel înalt al Adunării Generale a ONU.
Cu ocazia reuniunii, ministrul Bogdan Aurescu a transmis un mesaj prin care a reiterat condamnarea războiului de agresiune, neprovocat și nejustificat, declanșat de Rusia împotriva Ucrainei, subliniind caracterul complet inacceptabil al recentei escaladări din partea Rusiei prin decizia de a susține organizarea de așa-zise „referendumuri” pentru anexarea unor teritorii ocupate de trupele ruse și prin proferarea de amenințări cu folosirea armei nucleare.
Ministrul afacerilor externe a subliniat în mesajul său că România a sprijinit Ucraina din prima zi a acestei agresiuni și a evidențiat faptul că este inadmisibil ca acțiunile unui stat membru permanent al Consiliului de Securitate, respectiv F. Rusă, să pună în pericol ordinea internațională bazată pe reguli.
Șeful diplomației române a evidențiat faptul că atrocitățile comise de trupele ruse au șocat comunitatea internațională, subliniind că aceste acte nu pot rămâne fără răspuns în plan internațional, fiind necesară tragerea la răspundere a celor vinovați.
Ministrul Aurescu a reafirmat angajamentul de lungă durată al României de a promova respectarea dreptului internațional, ca pilon fundamental al politicii externe a României, și a trecut în revistă seria de acțiuni recente inițiate de România, între care depunerea la 13 septembrie 2022 a Declarației de Intervenție în procedurile inițiate de Ucraina contra Federației Ruse la Curtea Internațională de Justiție (CIJ) și depunerea la 16 septembrie la Grefa Curții Europene a Drepturilor Omului (CEDO) a cererii de intervenție a României în favoarea Ucrainei, în cauza introdusă de acest stat împotriva Federației Ruse la Curte, la 28 februarie 2022.
La reuniunea Consiliului de Securitate al ONU au participat reprezentanți de nivel înalt ai statelor membre permanente ale CS ONU, fiind prezidată de către ministrul pentru Europa și al afacerilor externe al Republicii Franceze, Catherine Colonna, în calitate de Președinție în curs a CS ONU.
Au mai participat reprezentanți ai statelor membre nepermanente ale CS ONU, printre care miniștri ai afacerilor externe din Albania, Brazilia, Gabon, Ghana, India, Irlanda, Mexic și din alte state membre ONU, printre care Ucraina, Cehia, Germania, Polonia, Lituania și Suedia.
Mesajul în limba engleză al ministrului afacerilor externe pentru dezbaterile cu prilejul reuniunii la nivel înalt a celei de-a 77-a sesiune a Adunării Generale a ONU din 22 septembrie 2022 este redat mai jos:
Mister President,
As a direct neighbor to Ukraine, Romania is of the view that today’s meeting of the Security Council to discuss the topic of justice and accountability regarding Ukraine is of crucial importance.
Since the 24th of February 2022, we have witnessed an ongoing atrocious war, run by a permanent member of the Security Council against Ukraine and its population, the victim of this unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression started by Russia. A state which is now arranging illegal “referenda” in order to annex illegally occupied territories of Ukraine, and which threatens us with the use of nuclear weapons. This is totally unacceptable!
As the tragedy of Ukraine has unfolded, we have started to see the magnitude of destruction and the growing number of victims of war.
Romania has not remained silent, to the contrary. And we have stood by Ukraine from day one of the Russian aggression, in a historical episode of solidarity towards Ukraine. Solidarity meant not only addressing the world’s fastest growing displacement crisis since the Second World War by supporting Ukraine and its people through humanitarian aid and emergency relief.
The solidarity I am talking about also means a strong unity and had many forms and evolved throughout the months as the needs of Ukraine changed. We adopted a wide range of multi-dimensional measures in support for the Ukrainian citizens we are hosting – free accommodation, free schooling, free access to the health system and the labor market etc., we provided large scale support at political, diplomatic and economic level and we are now facilitating the shipment of grain through Romania, including through our ports on the Danube and at the Black Sea.
Nevertheless, we are here today in the Security Council Chamber, the guarantor of international peace and security and of the rules-based order to discuss something really important: we have to make sure that justice is being served and accountability is pursued. We cannot allow for the rules-based order to be undermined. Romania is firm in its conviction that the principles of international law must be upheld, that all derailments from the law must be sanctioned, that any aggressive conduct in international affairs cannot be left without consequences. Romania is convinced that, through our unity, we can prevail.
The atrocities committed by Russia cannot and should not remain unpunished. Accountability is essential when dealing with what has happened in Ukraine and to Ukrainians. We are already engaged in demarches to hold Russia responsible for its wrongful and unlawful conduct.
At the same time, it is imperative that victims of the atrocious acts committed in blatant disregard of fundamental norms – including International Humanitarian Law – receive justice, and that the perpetrators of such acts and their top chain command will be held individually accountable.
The momentum for international law and international justice must be maintained and we have to show efficiency in our actions to protect the integrity of fundamental norms and documents, as the UN Charter.
Let me reaffirm Romania’s long standing commitment to promote the respect for international law, as a fundamental pillar of our foreign policy.
Based on this firm attachment for efficient multilateralism and respect for international law, Romania joined the proceedings initiated by Ukraine against the Russian Federation before the International Court of Justice in the case concerning Allegations of genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. On September 13, Romania’s declaration of intervention in this case was filed with the World Court, thus reaffirming our trust in the fundamental role that international law and its adjudication mechanisms play in ensuring justice, peace and stability. I am honored to serve as Agent of Romania in this case.
On September 16, Romania also submitted to the European Court of Human Rights the request for intervention concerning the case filed by Ukraine against Russia at the Court on February 28, 2022.
Romania was also one of the States that referred the situation in Ukraine to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Furthermore, the Romanian Government approved a voluntary financial contribution of 100.000 Euro in response to the Prosecutor’s appeal to States Parties to the Rome Statute to help with the overall increased workload of his office and we continue to look into possibilities for secondment of national experts.
We strongly support the activity of the International Criminal Court which is acting to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide. All future coordination plans should consider the Ukrainian authorities playing the central role on the accountability front and they should benefit from the available expertise and resources to fulfill their task.
At the same time, we strongly support the activity of the special inquiry mechanisms, such as the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine set up by the Human Rights Council or the OSCE Moscow Mechanism’s mission of experts, whose recent second report documented grave breaches of international humanitarian law.
I would also like to emphasize that Romania is a strong supporter of the efforts to seek accountability for all serious crimes committed in Ukraine, including the crime of aggression. At the same time, we find that it is essential to identify the most rigorous legal and largely endorsed solution to operationalize this ambitious goal.
We support the reinforced role and contribution of Eurojust with reference to this situation and I am happy to announce that the Romanian competent authorities are closely cooperating with this body, in connection with the situation in Ukraine. In this context, let me also mention that our national judicial authorities have already opened an in rem investigation into the crimes against humanity allegedly committed on the territory of Ukraine, in conformity with our Criminal Code.
To conclude, Romania will continue to play its part in the unprecedented collective effort to render justice to victims of the most serious crimes committed in Ukraine, in the context of this unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression. The perpetrators have to pay and our collective efforts must be efficient in this regard, as Ukraine seeks the justice it deserves.
Thank you!
