How effectively did the UN act in the aftermath of September 11?
It did its best within the limits of its authority. No one was prepared for what happened, just as no one could have known what course events would take, which would be the next targets of terrorist attacks. Let me remind you that a meeting of non-permanent UN members took place at the Ukrainian representation on Ukraine’s initiative to adopt a statement of the General Assembly Chairman for the press condemning the terrorist attack. The document was the first UN response to what happened that morning. Today, we continue to regard the UN as the central authority coordinating individual national efforts in combating international terrorism. Resolution No. 1371, passed last year with the Ukrainian delegation’s support contains strict obligations on all member states to assist one another in every possible way to investigate and prevent acts of terrorism, and envisions a number of other pertinent measures binding on every signatory. We have just submitted another Ukrainian progress report to the antiterrorist committee.
The General Assembly session is to begin with a ceremony commemorating the victims of September 11.
Yes. In addition to the ceremony, involving all the delegations, Secretary General, and Chairman of the General Assembly, there will be a special meeting of the Security Council with the Ukrainian delegation taking part.
What events will take place on the site of the tragedy?
There will be a memorial meeting. A ceremony commemorating all men in uniform (all those who died in line of duty and were the first to arrive at the scene) will start in New York at one in the morning. Musicians, drummers, and bagpipe players will march from five city districts, being replaced by new musicians every mile, until they reach the ruins of the World Trade Center. At 8:45 a.m. local time, precisely when the first plane hit the tower last year, there will be a moment of silence. At the site, members of victims’ families (among them Ukrainian ones) will read out the names of those they lost. The reading will be interrupted by other moments of silence when the second plane smashed into the second tower, when the first tower collapsed, and then flowers will be laid at the place of the building’s lower tier. Church bells will chime all over the city when the second tower fell. Candles will be lit in the evening, at Battery Park, by the Sphere Memorial. This metal ball, symbolizing the Earth, was on the square facing the Twins and is still there, slightly damaged by falling fragments. The ceremony will be attended by foreign delegations visiting New York for the occasion.
The Iraqi issue is uppermost in the debate of a sequel to the antiterrorist operation. What stand will the Ukrainian delegation take, and how is this issue treated at the United Nations?
As we all know, most countries are against another war in Iraq. Ukraine insists that the issue be resolved using only political and diplomatic means, relying on an appropriate resolution of the Security Council. We believe that a political dialog remains the only effective way to peacefully settle the Iraqi problem. Ukraine proceeds from the assumption that the use of force is the sole prerogative of the UN Security Council, in keeping with established procedures. In addition, considering the current situation, especially the lasting conflict in the Middle East, any other combat operations could finally destabilize the whole region and in our opinion will by no means help solve the Iraqi and Middle East issues. Ukraine consistently supports the idea of strict Iraqi observance of all Security Council resolutions, the quickest possible resumption of international inspections under the UN auspices, and urges Iraq to cooperate with the United Nations Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). Ukraine takes active part in this body. It is politically represented in the College of Commissioners and has its experts at the UNMOVIC office in New York, as well as among the inspectors to be dispatched to Iraq. Ukraine’s principled stand in the Iraqi issue was more than once demonstrated by our delegation at the Security Council, in 2000-01. We remain an active exponent of dialog between the UN Secretary General and Iraq, seeing it as the most effective way to solve the existing problems, including the resumption of international inspections in Iraq.
Combating terrorism has, of course, remained a priority at recent General Assembly. What about the coming session?
This session is to deliberate some 170 points on the agenda concerning practically all aspects of international life, including the situation in the Middle East, Palestine, Balkans, international criminal court, combating HIV and AIDS, human rights, and disarmament. It is also Ukraine’s turn to preside over the Eastern European Regional Group including 21 Central and Eastern European countries. Throughout September, Ukraine will coordinate this group at the UN and will represent it in certain matters before the chairmen of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, and other UN agencies and regional groups (the UN has five such groups: Eastern European, African, Asian, Latin American, Caribbean, and Western European, including other countries). It is a prestigious mission and it will take much time and effort, but that’s something we are used to. On the very first day the General Assembly session will consider the Swiss membership application. On September 27, another country will be admitted: East Timor.
The peacekeeping effort, praised by the Secretary General, is closely associated with combating terrorism. And this is pressing, isn’t it?
There is an increasing demand for UN peacekeeping operations. Owing to the continuous peacekeeping reform, the United Nations is prepared even now to offer a more effective resistance to new and complex threats in this realm. We believe that the important role played by UN peacekeeping missions throughout the world and every peacekeeping member country’s contribution should be adequately acknowledged. Peacekeepers’ Day was first celebrated in Ukraine this year. Ukraine will submit a draft resolution at this session, proclaiming the UN International Peacekeepers’ Year. We see it as a tribute to all those fallen peacekeepers and to those taking part in peacekeeping missions. By the way, the UN Secretary General forwarded Dag Hammarskjold medals through our representation to be posthumously awarded to Ukrainian servicemen on UN peacekeeping missions. A ceremony will shortly be held at the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during which the medals will be presented to the families of those who perished. I have no doubt that our initiative, proclaimed by Anatoly Zlenko, head of the Ukrainian delegation, in his address to the session (scheduled for September 14), will find extensive support. I also hope that the International Peacekeepers’ Year will be observed already in 2003, marking the 55th anniversary of the first UN peacekeeping mission.
