Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Olha Stefanishyna: Prevarication of some UN member states jeopardizes peace and prosperity in Europe

Achieving the UN's sustainable development goals and combating the coronavirus cannot be considered in isolation without taking into account all the crises and challenges on the European continent.

This was announced on April 6 by Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna during the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

"Ukraine is committed to the values and goals of sustainable development until

2030. Since 2015, we have launched a series of reforms in the country that have developed our economic potential and democracy. However, it is now impossible to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals due to the full-scale armed aggression that russia has launched against Ukraine," Olha Stefanishyna underscored.

The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the UN Economic Commission for Europe, established in 1947, was to help rebuild post-war Europe, promote economic development and strengthen economic relations between European countries. "However, on February 24, 2022, all the efforts of the international community and this organization to restore and develop on the European continent, as well as abroad, were undermined by an armed attack on ussia," said the Deputy Prime Minister.

She also stressed that the russian armed forces, which operate in particular from the territory of belarus, are attacking kindergartens and schools, universities, hospitals, food and fuel depots, etc. About 11 million people in Ukraine have been forced to flee their homes.

"At the same time, I regret to admit that some member states of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe are still reluctant to strongly oppose aggression. This makes it extremely difficult to achieve peace and prosperity on the European continent. I am deeply convinced that the desire of Ukrainians to live in an independent, prosperous and democratic state is much stronger than our enemy's desire to undermine the foundations of European security, and the victory of good over evil is only a matter of time," said Olha Stefanishyna.

The Deputy Prime Minister also focused on the threats of the food crisis in the world posed by russia's armed aggression.

Background

In September 2015, the UN Summit on Sustainable Development was held in New York. As a result, 17 Sustainable Development Goals, also known as the Global Goals, were approved. It is a universal call for action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity for all people in the world. Among the 17 goals are overcoming poverty and hunger, good health, quality education, gender equality, clean water and good sanitation, and more.

No comments:

Post a Comment