Виступаючи на сегменті високого рівня, глава українського зовнішньополітичного відомства поінформував спільноту ОБСЄ про серйозні безпекові та гуманітарні загрози, у тому числі проблеми внутрішньо переміщених осіб, які постали перед Україною у зв’язку зі збройною агресією РФ проти нашої країни, а також заходи, що вживаються українською владою з метою їх подолання та запобігання міграційним ризикам для країн-сусідів.

У рамках участі у Конференції Міністр Павло Клімкін провів низку важливих двосторонніх зустрічей з главами низки зовнішньополітичних відомств держав-учасниць і середземноморських партнерів ОБСЄ, зокрема - майбутнім Італійським головуванням у ОБСЄ, а також із Генеральним секретарем ОБСЄ Томасом Гремінгером і Верховним комісаром ОБСЄ у справах національних меншин Ламберто Дзанньєром.

 

Текст виступу Міністра:

 

Mr. Chairperson,

Let me start by thanking the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Federal Minister of Austria Sebastian Kurz, for convening this Conference. Our special thanks go to Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, Angelino Alfano, for so generously hosting us here today in sunny Palermo.

I am also delighted to see in this room my fellow-ministers and high-level representatives of the OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation. Your active engagement in a substantive OSCE-Mediterranean dialogue is a proof of our strong partnership, mutual solidarity and support, aimed to promote peace, security and stability in the Euro-Mediteranean region and beyond.

The issues of large movements of migrants and refugees across the Mediterranean have grown to be broadly seen amongst the most pressing security challenges in the OSCE area, alongside with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and combating terrorism. These call for urgent, co-ordinated and effective responses.

2016 has become the year with the highest level of forced displacement globally recorded since World War II. There are a number of factors affecting the forced movement of people, with the unresolved conflicts ranking at the top of them. According to the UN High Commissioner on Refugees, 67.7 mln people were displaced at the end of 2016, 36.6 mln or more than a half of them were IDPs. Against this background we are convinced that the problem of IDPs, which so heavily affects a number of OSCE participating States, should be moved higher on the agenda of our Organization.

There are about 1.6 million IDPs registered in Ukraine (it is nearly 4% of Ukraine’s population). They fled to the Government-controlled areas of Ukraine from the Russian aggression, violence and gross human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas.

The government put enormous resources to assist IDPs including through the adopted law on internal displacement and establishment of the Ministry for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons.  There is still much more to do to address problems of displaced persons in Ukraine. But what our government achieved is that those 1.6 million IDPs do not pose any migration or refugee threat for neighboring countries. 

The strains and risks generated by forced large internal displacement of persons highlight the need to launch a meaningful discussion on elaboration of a comprehensive international instrument to strengthen the protection of the rights of IDPs. The OSCE could be the right platform for launching this process.

The OSCE possesses unique assets and specific comparative advantages in the sphere of migration which we should better utilize in close co-operation and co-ordination with other international organizations. We need closer interaction with the UNHCR, the International Organization in Migration (IOM), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other international organizations in addressing migration-related challenges, which would assign a useful complementary and supporting role for the OSCE. In this connection it is important to make sure that duplication and overlap are avoided in this major international endeavor, while the OSCE would be able to provide real added-value through efficient and focused use of its human and financial resources.

Massive flows of illegal migration caused by the ongoing turbulence and violence in several countries of the Mediterranean and Middle East is not the only security threat undermining stability and prosperity in the OSCE area. In a broader context, such challenges as hybrid warfare with the use of illegal armed formations, dissemination of propaganda and hate speech, cyber attacks and military provocations, are no less dangerous. They require a consolidated response of the OSCE participating States and partners, both in the Mediterranean and its neighbourhood, to ensure that the well-designed European security architecture based on common principles and commitments is effectively safeguarded. While millions of people continue to flee from the horrors of armed conflicts and clashes, it is necessary to provide them with assurances that the root causes of the conflicts are clearly identified and proper reaction will follow. We commend the efforts of the incoming Italian Chairmanship to highlight the significance of joint solutions in tackling the multifaceted security challenges of today.

We look forward to having a fruitful exchange of ideas on how to reinforce our concrete and result-oriented co-operation, which could contribute effectively to achieving the goal of comprehensive security in a broader OSCE region.

As we have learned from our experience of membership in the UN Security Council, the challenges posed by human displacement in the OSCE area should be seen in a broader context. Numerous armed conflicts affecting the African continent and human rights violations push millions of people from their places of residence and create problems far beyond the borders of their home countries. As a current UNSC member and as Chair of the Security Council Committees on the Central African Republic and on Darfur/Sudan, Ukraine is making its own contribution to resolving conflicts in those countries and thus alleviating the problem of human displacement.

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.