Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address UN Security Council for 1st time since Russian invasion
United Nations, Apr 5: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to address the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, the first time he will address the most powerful UN organ since Russia's invasion of his country and after streets strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians were found in the suburbs of Kyiv, sparking worldwide horror and condemnation.
The UK is the President of the Security Council for the month of April and it announced in a tweet on Monday that Zelenskyy will virtually address Tuesday's Security Council meeting on Ukraine following his visit to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.
This will be the first time that Zelenskyy addresses the Security Council since Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia
is
a
veto-wielding
permanent
member
of
the
Council.
The
Council
and
the
General
Assembly
have
held
several
meetings,
including
a
rare
Emergency
Special
Session
in
the
193-member
Assembly
on
the
situation
in
Ukraine.
"The UK Presidency of the Council will ensure the truth is heard about Russia's war crimes. We will expose (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war for what it really is," the UK Mission to the UN said.
Images and videos of people lying dead on the streets of Bucha, some with their hands tied behind them, drew global condemnation and calls for investigation and tougher actions against Russia.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is "deeply shocked" by the images of civilians killed in Bucha.
"It is essential that an independent investigation leads to effective accountability," he said.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that she is "horrified" by the images of civilians lying dead on the streets and in improvised graves in the town of Bucha in Ukraine.
"Reports emerging from this and other areas raise serious and disturbing questions about possible war crimes as well as grave breaches of international humanitarian law and serious violations of international human rights law," she said, adding that it is essential that all bodies are exhumed and identified so that victims' families can be informed, and the exact causes of death established.
All
measures
should
be
taken
to
preserve
evidence,
Bachelet
said.
"It
is
vital
that
all
efforts
are
made
to
ensure
there
are
independent
and
effective
investigations
into
what
happened
in
Bucha
to
ensure
truth,
justice
and
accountability,
as
well
as
reparations
and
remedy
for
victims
and
their
families,"
she
added.
US Ambassador at UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters in Bucharest, Romania that Washington, in close coordination with Ukraine, European countries and other partners at the UN, is going to seek Russia's suspension from the UN Human Rights Council.
"A hundred-and-forty UN Member States have already voted to condemn Russia over its unprovoked war and the humanitarian crisis it has unleashed upon the people of Ukraine.
"My
message
to
those
140
countries
who
have
courageously
stood
together
is
simple:
the
images
out
of
Bucha
and
devastation
across
Ukraine
require
us
now
to
match
our
words
with
action.
We
cannot
let
a
Member
State
that
is
subverting
every
principle
we
hold
dear
to
continue
to
sit
on
the
UN
Human
Rights
Council,"
Thomas-Greenfield
said.
She
was
referring
to
the
UN
Member
States
who
voted
in
favour
of
General
Assembly
resolutions
deploring
Russian
action
and
demanding
that
Moscow
immediately
withdraw
its
forces
and
cease
hostilities.
"Russia should not have a position of authority in that body, nor should we allow Russia to use their role on the Council as a tool of propaganda to suggest they have a legitimate concern about human rights.
"In fact, we see every day, including yesterday, heartbreaking reports about how little they care about human rights. Russia's participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce. It hurts the credibility of the Council and the UN writ large. And it is simply wrong. Which is why we believe it is time for the UN General Assembly to suspend them," she said.
Thomas-Greenfield told National Public Radio that the US expects action in the General Assembly "as soon as possible - this week, and possibly as early as Thursday."
Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, during a press briefing at the UN headquarters on the situation in Bucha, accused the Kiev regime, with active support from its Western sponsors, of promoting in Western mass media "fake news" about alleged "atrocities" of Russian military forces.
"From the very beginning, it has been clear that this is nothing else but yet another staged provocation aimed at discrediting and dehumanising the Russian military and levelling political pressure on Russia.
"Not many of you know about the Russian military, but I assure you that the Russian military is nothing that it is being accused of, in particular what regards 'cruel atrocities' against the civilian population. It is not the case. It never was, and will never be," he said.
The
Russian
envoy
asserted
that
Moscow
has
"factual
evidence"
to
prove
this
point
and
it
intends
to
present
it
to
the
Security
Council
as
soon
as
possible
"so
that
the
international
community
is
not
misled
by
the
false
narrative
promoted
by
Kiev
and
its
Western
sponsors."
He
said
that
there
are
no
reports
of
atrocities
which
are
accredited
to
the
Russian
military
in
Bucha,
which
happened
before
the
Ukrainian
army
took
control
of
the
town.
"Four days after the Russian military left the city of Bucha, there was not a single sign of any 'atrocities'. I repeat - not a single reference to it, anywhere," Nebenzia said.
"The infamous video depicting bodies on the city roads only appeared on April 3. It is full of discrepancies and blatant lies. According to its authors, the bodies were lying on the streets for at least four days by the time the video was filmed.
"However, the bodies are not stiffened. How is that possible? It is against the law of biology. The bodies do not have signs of decomposition known to forensic experts, including cadaver stains. The wounds contain no blood," the Russian ambassador added.