Topic:
Country: France
Delegate Name: Harry Cornell
Committee: UNSC
Topic: Situation in Ukraine
Country: France
Delegate: Harrison Cornell
Ukraine has been an independent nation for over two centuries. Earlier this year, the Russian Federation made the decision to both invade parts of Ukraine and to annex parts of Ukraine. In 2014, the Russian Federation launched a military coup in Crimea. Since then it has been noted that “Russia is responsible for multiple human rights abuses, including torture, detention, forced disappearances as well as discrimination” (Clinton). If the same holds true for the rest of Ukraine, this body will have a much larger problem on its hands that it currently does.
France does not recognize any of these annexations. These actions go against everything that France stands for. France holds the very clear position that since “the very first day of the conflict, France and its European Union partners chose to stand firmly alongside Ukraine and its people” (France’s Position…). When King Louis XIV took France into a state of turmoil, – throwing France into the French-Indian War and bankrupting the nation – the French people stormed the Bastille and formed the First French Republic (France). It is the belief of the nation that the people of a nation shall not be under any sort of oppression from a government that only seeks to further itself at the expense of the liberties observed by the people. Moreover, there have been many mass atrocities in cities occupied by Russian forces, especially Bucha. France will continue to support the International Criminal Court’s investigation into these issues and provide whatever humanitarian aid is necessary (France’s Position…). Finally, there have been many issues from this invasion that have impacted the global economy. France is proud to have helped to address this by “announcing the launch of the international Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM) initiative for food security in the most vulnerable countries alongside our European Union, G7 and African Union partners” (France’s Position…).
France seeks to work with any nation who seeks to help the global economy recover from this crisis. Furthermore, France would like to work to sanction Russia however does not see that being achievable by this body. When President Macron asked, “Who of you here can consider that the day when something similar [to Russia’s invasion and annexation] with a more powerful neighbor happens to you, there’ll be silence from the region, from the world?” (Peltz) he asked for the help of nations who know the dangerous precedent that may be set if no action is taken, and so it is the job of the body to take the appropriate action to resolve this situation.
Works Cited
Clinton, Jane. “Why did Russia annex Crimea? What happened when Putin invaded in 2014 and how Nato reacted to annexation.” inews.co.uk, Associated Newspapers Limited, 29 Jan. 2022, inews.co.uk/news/world/russia-annex-crimea-why-putin-invaded-2014-what-happened-nato-annexation-explained-1424682.
“France’s position on the situation in Ukraine.” French Diplomacy, Ministère De L’Europe Et Des Affaires Étrangères, www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/ukraine/situation-in-ukraine-what-is/.
“France.” Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, edited by Melissa Sue Hill, 14th ed., vol. 5: Europe, Gale, 2017, pp. 239-268. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3652100254/GVRL?u=lom_egrandmdl&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=5fb26ba2. Accessed 18 Nov. 2022.
Jennifer, Peltz. “France: No nation can stay ‘indifferent’ on Ukraine War.” Yahoo! News, Yahoo!, 20 Sept. 2022, news.yahoo.com/france-no-nation-stay-indifferent-193445199.html.
