Ukraine, Threats to International Peace and Security: Statement During Open Meeting

Thank you Madam President

I thank Under-Secretary-Genera Rosemary DiCarlo for her briefing, and I welcome the participation of the Representative of Ukraine.

Kenya voted abstention on the procedural vote to hold this meeting.

We did so to reflect our contention that the impasse between NATO and the Russian Federation is imminently solvable and that the diplomatic steps underway already show promise.

This, rather than escalation in search of a winner-take-all outcome will seriously undermine international peace and security.

Kenya has always maintained that the respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries is a cornerstone of global peace. Where there are disputes regarding territorial jurisdiction or security interests, we strongly support patient diplomacy as the first, second, and third option.

When the dispute is between major powers, and regards the security of a third country, it is imperative that they embrace a spirit of compromise.

We believe that the United States, NATO and the Russian Federation have an opportunity to establish a diplomatic framework that will allow them to resolve their differences. Their security, and that of the entire world, depends on them willingly taking this step. Not in ushering in a new age of containment, provocation, and proxy actions.

Compromise is not surrender. The special powers given to the Security Council's permanent members demand that they embrace this principle if the United Nations is not to go the way of the doomed League of Nations.

Africa recalls the rejections of compromise, and search for total victory, that led to the Cold War. We experienced it as a series of hot wars and interventions that deeply damaged our dreams of peace, development, and competent, inclusive government.

Our internal divisions and fragilities were weaponised at the altar of geopolitical rivalry. It confirmed the truth of the African saying that recognises "when Elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers."

Madam President,

Given that the majority of the conflict situations the Security Council deals with are in Africa, we do not want them to serve as surrogates for a new Cold War. We in Africa, therefore, have a direct stake in de-escalation and renewed faith in diplomacy.

If there is to be a series of new cold wars, it is urgent that the structure and culture of the Security Council change substantively if it is to remain fit for purpose.

We can no longer deny others the power of permanent membership and veto power if today's permanent five are unable to deliver on the Council's mandate. We can no longer accord to a system of pen-holdership that may utilise such privileges to advance geopolitical rivalries, not the delivery of solutions.

We have serious challenges to solve together. Rarely has the world more urgently needed a United Nations that can deliver ambitiously.

Madam President,

Kenya believes that there is still plenty of opportunity for the Normandy Format talks, the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, and the direct negotiations between the United States and the Russian Federation to produce a satisfactory outcome. We urge all these parties to ensure that their negotiations respect the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Faith in innovative diplomacy may also allow for agreements between today's major powers inspired by the 1975 Helsinki Accords, which did deliver some stability to Europe during the Cold War. This time however, such agreements need to advance the principle of non-interference to Africa, and the rest of the world.

Madam President,

In closing. We urge the national leadership of Ukraine to strengthen national unity among all Ukrainians, no matter their ethnicity or regional origin, as the surest path to lasting peace.

It is critical that diplomacy and its acceptance of compromise as an outcome win the day. If there are future discussions to be held in the Security Council on this matter, let it be to announce a new era of cooperation. I thank you.