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Statement at the Arria-formula meeting on Ukraine

Statement by Political Coordinator of Slovenia to the United Nations Klemen Ponikvar at the Arria-formula meeting on “Beyond the Battlefield: atrocities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine against civilians”, called by the Russian Federation

Thank you Mr. Chairperson,

I take note of the statements made by the briefers just now. Let me underline a couple of points on behalf of my delegation.

Firstly, we cannot accept selective references to international law violations. Slovenia also cannot allow setting any double standards, yet alone for application of international humanitarian law.

It is counterproductive to use a Security Council discussion, even an informal one, to point out only a fraction of alleged violations.

As you might recall, as recent as beginning of this week, we received the letter of Ukraine pointing out the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure. Mind please this is happening in the midst of winter.

We are also not discussing sinking of grain ships in the Black Sea; systematic torture, abuse and execution of prisoners of war and civilian detainees; or the forced transfer and unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children. To mention just a few. One needs to understand such discussions raise questions about the aim and credibility of such meetings.

Secondly. What we do agree about with the sponsor of this meeting is that accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity needs to be ensured. All of them. And regardless of the perpetrator.

The same holds for the crime of aggression; we need to fill the gap in the international legal framework in this regard. Slovenia supports the establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. This is an important investment into prevention of future reoccurrence of this crime.

Furthermore, we advocate for victims and survivors to have a central role in accountability processes and continue to call for timely, effective and comprehensive accountability measures. In this context, Slovenia also supports the activities of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Mr. Chairperson,

Let me end this statement by reaffirming Slovenia’s readiness to actively work towards ensuring accountability for atrocities, and delivering timely justice to all the victims of this war.

I thank you.

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